Harry Potter and The Only Thing
by Boots86
Summary: After having watched his best friend killed in front of him by people he thought was family, followed shortly by another tragedy in his life, Harry sets out to find a way to change his past. AU End/Post OotP, H/Hr/Multi Full Summary Inside
1. Introduction

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**Rating: M – **This story will contain course language, suggestive situations, descriptive violence, and sexual situations.

**Ship: **Harry/Hermione/Multi & Neville/Hannah/Multi

**Genre(s): **Action/Romance/Erotic/Comedy/Horror/Sci-Fi/Myth-Folklore

**Summary:** After the murder of his best friend by people he thought were his family, and learning how messed up the world became because of one man's mistake, Harry spends years trying to find a way to undo what was done. Unknown at the time, he would watch from the sidelines as the human race not only destroyed its home planet, but later itself as it wandered through space, with him never being able to die. He becomes the last human being in existence (living so long that its only heard of in relation to gods and spirits) always searching for a way to undo the past, but also wishing for death to finally claim him if/so he can be with his true friends again since he has yet to find a way. After living for nearly 20 millenniums, he finds the answer and returns to when the events of the magical world would condemn Earth and all its races to oblivion.

**INTRODUCTION:**

Okay, I wasn't one to normally give up a general description normally when I wrote previously. Based upon several of the stories I've been following lately, well at least the incomplete ones, I've found having a decent summary of at least the beginning and premise of the story are a good thing to have at the start. On top of that, the idea for this story has come due to a culmination of a bunch of other story challenges, and some of the writers' stories who followed those challenges.

In regards to the challenges specifically, my main ideas came from a mix of the reptilla28's "Tabula Rasa", Dark Dragen's (formerly Ranger Dragan if I remember correctly) "Slave Challenge", and several from Paladeus' forums and one specifically from his collection of one-shots called "Into the Rabbit Hole".

Next is the pointing out of the challenge bits that I accepted. From reptilla28's, it's the notion of "waking up in Death's office." While I won't say it's "Death's Office," the idea of meeting someone upon "Death" is in here. That will be the only part of that challenge used.

From Dark Dragen's "Slave Challenge" there are several points that I took into account. Harry finding himself with "slaves," done; The slaves must be girls, done; Dumbledore has to be a right bastard, done; Weasley's have to be bashed, mostly done (as cliché as the idea is, it holds merit, but there are some who can be decent.) For the rest of the parts of the challenge, I don't use them, at least not in the context of how they are laid out. The parts that are used, specifically: Harry's magic being bound, Harry inheriting an island in the Atlantic, and Harry being defrauded out of his inheritance. These three actually tie in with some of the ideas from Paladeus' challenges for me so while the concept is used, it won't be in the same context. One particular aspect of Dark Dragen's challenge though that will not be used is "Harry can be brutal with his slaves." I will admit there will be a scene of something like this, but A) It won't be Harry and B) The person involved _will_ get their comeuppance.

Now for the points from Paladeus' challenges as his are the more voluminous. First is from his one shot "Harry Potter and The Only Thing" for which this story is named. Taken from that idea is Time Travel by use of the Hallows as well as a partial scene he made that starts that story off. It won't be exact, but the general idea shall be used. Also, it will set the 'stage' so to speak for the use of the Hallows, though not as sudden, and just like that story, will only be Cannon Compliant for the beginning time frame.

Following that specific challenge, I've taken points from Challenges 4, 6, and 10 from his forums. I won't point out which ideas as they are plot points and you'll find out later. If you're curious you can go read them.

As to the stories I've taken some inspiration from, I have to give major props to these writers as they have all come up with some astounding and fantastic stories. The major ones that I remember are Driftwood1965, Phoenix Dawn, Dragon-Raptor, robst, muggledad, and Radaslab. Each of these authors' has specific stories that have lead to ideas that I've been formulating or have had. I'll probably end up listing the stories themselves as stories of interest per chapter, but I'm giving them their credit where it's due up front. I will point out now however that I am not taking credit for their creations and that while I will try and make my own story unique, there is probably going to be obvious similarities that show up.

Also, there are several other authors out there that have their own stories as well that I remember being inspiration, however at this time, I can't remember who they are, or what the name of the story was. So if I use something by you (if you should read this story) I apologize in advance as I do not remember you or your story specifically. Same goes for anyone who reads this and

Now, onto some very detail oriented specifics that need to be explained prior to the actual story. First and foremost, I got these specifics from Radaslab's Harem Wars, and try as I might to find a different description, I find myself falling short.

First is the idea of Harry having a sister. While in Harem Wars, Clarice (and I have to point out that the name fits too damn well even after having read several other sister fics, so many kudos to Radaslab for the OC) is a minor character used for a plot point, he uses her as a main character in his 30 Minutes series. I shall be utilizing her as a major character in my story as well; however, I'll _only _be using the name and general physical description for her (minus the Jameson family used in the three fics he uses them in currently.)

Second is the idea of what would be 'fem slash,' Radaslab had an excellent idea of how to explain it, and while his idea is phenomenal, I'm going to try expand/add onto it a bit to tie it in with my story.

And finally, the things that make Harem Wars what it is are the notions of Magical Guardian, Marriage, and Concubines. While I won't be making my story as solely focus on the aspects of a very corrupt and male dominated society, the concepts he has fits with my idea. So, as in Harem War's first chapter, I'll lay out my interpretations and variations here so you won't be blindsided by them and so you won't have to work through the story in various degree's to figure them out. As a side note though, some of these notions _do_ have to be explained in the story so when they come up, so don't be too surprised if they have to go into more detail.

**MAGICAL GUARDIAN:** Always a wizard. A magical guardian is responsible for the life of his ward(s) up until they are 17 for boys and no later than 21 for girls. His responsibilities _by law_ are he is supposed to see to it that they understand the traditions and nature of the society they are currently living in. This includes all notions of contracts, bonds, marriage, and inheritance. A Magical Guardian is always the father of the child, so long as they are a wizard. If the father is not a wizard, the role falls to the head of the Legislative Body of the government to determine a suitable candidate for the child. Should the magical father of a child die before the child comes of age, Magical Guardianship shall be determined first via closest male kinship, starting with whoever the ward(s) Head of House should be, for immediate guardianship and then via their Last Will and Testament for final guardianship. Because of this situation, all magical fathers are required by law to fill out a will and in a specific section, designate who the Magical Guardian should be should their spouse survive them. Unless the Magical Guardian is designated as the Primary Guardian of a ward(s) in a will should both parents pass on, they have no say in how or where the ward(s) should live or be raised. Should a Magical Guardian fail to follow the law in any way, except when the Magical Guardian is the father of the ward(s), will result in the immediate removal as the Magical Guardian of the ward(s). Additional reprisals will follow depending on the disparity of education of their ward.

**Marriage: **Any legal form of the reciprocal bonding between a man and the woman to become a wife. Accepted forms of marriage are those formed via contracts, standard 'at law' ceremonies, or via the formation of a magical bonding between the two parties. Marriage is intended to be permanent but those done via contract can be annulled or dissolved based on the parameters of the contract, or should a magical bond form with someone else of at least the same strength as the contract. Such breaks can no longer be obtained should the development of a magical bond form. Marriages done 'at law' can result in divorce for the same reasons as

**Marriage at Law/Contracted Marriage: **A form of marriage designated by contract or an 'at law' ceremony between two individuals. Contracted Marriages are agreed upon between the two individuals and the fathers and/or the Primary Guardians of those involved. If the contract is between two minors, the agreement is based solely between the fathers and/or the Primary Guardians of the two minors. Neither form is a magical bond recognized as marriage, nor is magic involved in it, outside of what is used to make the contract for the Contracted Marriage. Either form _can_ evolve, however, into a magical bond between the two contracted individuals if and only if their feelings are true and free of outside influence of any form. A Contracted Marriage is the preferred method by 'Pureblood' families.

**Consort Bond(s):** The absolute strongest form of recognized magical marriage between a man and woman. The consort bond is derived from both love and the submission of the two individuals to each other. The formation of such a bond is initiated solely by a witch free from all forms of outside influence and must be accepted by the wizard who must also be free from all outside influence. A witch will then become a consort, and also recognized as a wife, when the rite is completed between the couple. The rite itself is sexual in nature and, once formed, will invalidate any and all existing unfulfilled contracts without penalty to the individuals involved in forming the Consort Bond. Once formed, this bond is unbreakable by any known means. Also, the bond suppresses certain aspects of free will between bonded. A witch will no longer desire any other man in any sexual way; however, for the man, they can still be attracted to another witch, but cannot pursue or be involved with them without the knowledge and _absolute_ consent of his consort. Based upon the consent of the consort, the bond is not exclusive, meaning it can be formed multiple times if the consort, any additional Consorts (should there be any), the wizard involved, and the intended consort all meet the mutual subjugation and love to each other. This is only possible between a man and multiple women. A single woman cannot form multiple Consort bonds with multiple men.

**Concubine Bond(s):** A magical bond between a witch and the wizard she is bound to. A concubine bond is not recognized as a form of marriage. For all intents and purposes, a concubine is the slave of the wizard. The only way a Concubine Bond can be formed if the witch in question owes the wizard a form of debt (usually a Life Debt or a Debt of Honor) that is called in by the wizard. It is called in only when the witch in question and the wizard are both in understanding that the witch will have no way of repaying the debt in one form or another, and that by becoming a concubine will also become a ward of the wizard. The rite to create the bond is also a sexual rite in which the wizard _must_ give the witch the commands on the acts. This is to create the submissive nature of the bond in which the witch will only be able to do as much as her wizard will allow her.

This bond is permanent and cannot be broken by any known means, only transferred to another wizard, however, the bond itself can evolve further into a Consort Bond should the steps to reach the Consort Bond be allowed and met by both the Concubine and the wizard.

**Love Bonds:** A magical bond between a man and woman that is recognized as a form of marriage. Love bonds have two specific types of progressions that they can go through.

First is the progression from a Contracted Marriage or a Marriage at Law. While not a magical bond to begin with, a witch as a wife in either of the noted forms can form a love bond with the wizard they are married to so long as it is formed free of any influence. Should this happen, the bond between them shall become permanent insofar as the love remains and is free from any influence. Also, this bond can form between two people even if one of them is not part of the initial marriage. Should this happen, and the individual involved in the initial marriage has no feelings free from influence for the other involved in the marriage, the marriage is voided immediately by magic and the individual who does not have the bond is subject to any penalties, in the case of Contracted Marriages, regarding the break. If there are feelings free from influence still for the initial marriaged individual, the individual who formed the love bond can either then seek annulment then settle any penalties between them and the other individual, or, if they are a wizard, can seek to form at least a love bond between himself and his contracted spouse. Should that fail to happen, an annulment is immediate and neither individual shall be subject to the penalties of a contract should that be their form of marriage. From this point, a love bond can later evolve further into a Consort Bond should the perquisites be met for such a bond.

The other progression is for a Concubine in which there are two stages. The first is that the witch must develop feelings for her master free from any influence, including that of the Concubine Bond itself. This will elevated a concubine to a 'wife' status, but is not permanent and can regress back to the normal Concubine Bond. The final stage is the progression to that of Consort, but with an additional perquisite necessary to break the submissiveness created by the Concubine Bond, and that is the Concubine bearing her wizard a child.

**END OF INTRODUCTION**

And with those somewhat lengthy descriptions, I will again point out I will have to describe them again later to the characters of the story.

Also, I will remind readers that this story is rated M for a reason, most of which are listed above. I will try and make it abundantly clear at the start of a chapter when the contents of it will be in the M rating and also, IF YOU AREN'T OLD ENOUGH STOP NOW!

So, with that said, I hope you enjoy the story.


	2. CH1: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N:** I really hope anyone who starts and follows this story has read the introduction. It clears up a lot of where my ideas came from, and hopefully gives you a good grounding of a major aspect of the story.

**Recommended Story: "**Darkened Paths" by Paladeus

**CHAPTER ONE: A PICTURE HOLDS A THOUSAND WORDS**

**TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, Year: 19,959 A.D.; Location- Unknown**

Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Live, The-Man-Who-Conquered, savior of the magical world of Britain, The Master of Death, and a plethora of other titles, sighed as he stared into the void of space. Even thinking about the many titles he had acquired over the years still made him nauseas. Granted, it wasn't like he had to worry about them being used any more. He was the only person aboard his ship after all since it had been years since he had even seen another human being, much less talked to one.

Granted, it also wasn't for what would be considered a lack of trying on his part. There just weren't any left. Out of all the titles he knew he had, the one that stung the most was "The Last Human in Existence." The earth had died out over 15,000 years ago due to what was done to it and what was left of the human race had been forced to flee the planet to the vastness of space before the planet's core went ballistic and detonated. After that, it was just a matter of time before humans slowly began to die out as they became wanderer's searching for a new home world.

That simple fact made him sigh again as it crossed his mind, try as he might to blank any thoughts what so ever from crossing his mind. Slowly he took a sip from a glass in his right hand. The amber liquid of a Brandy burning his throat it made its way down to his stomach.

As he let the burning sensation and following warmth spread throughout his body for a brief moment, he set the glass aside and looked around his ship briefly before staring back out into space. It wasn't like there was much going on since he was alone.

He was sitting in what most would call a cockpit, or captain's seat. It was simple enough, kind of like a cross between an old barber shop seat and a desk chair. Granted, the connectors and markings along the dull gray metal that made up the back and sides of the seat that connected to various parts of this space kind of pointed it out as not being just a spot to sit.

To the right of the seat were two consuls made of the same dull gray metal that the seat was, and also connected to it. One showed the status of the ship overall, with various diagrams of sections from the outside, and the other was about the interior and the engines. Both of the consuls' connection to the seat and transmitted to a small screen on the right armrest.

The left side had a single consul, though similar, showed the status of the food stores and the status of various computer functions of the ship, namely any maintenance that was happening, if there was any, on a list to be done, or if Harry needed to see to the repair himself. Directly in front of Harry however was a small consul that was radar and showed a space of roughly 400 kilometers in any direction around his ship.

Above all of these was a 180 degree panel that showed the space outside in clear detail. The only thing he could see, if he focused that is, at that time were the twinkling stars off in the distance.

Harry stayed like that, sipping the glass of Brandy every now and then, sighing at random points whenever a thought crossed his mind as he slowly drifted farther in space. It was when he tried to take another sip of Brandy and realized the glass was empty that he stared at it briefly, sighing again for the uncountable time, before standing and turning to walk to the rear of his ship and the thoughts he had been trying to keep away, or at least blur with the strong drink, came back full force.

"_How did everything come to this?"_ he thought to himself rhetorically as the door several feet behind his captain's seat opened for him.

It wasn't like he didn't know how, and it wasn't like he didn't understand the why either. Those things where the first answers he had sought out, and they didn't take nearly as long to find as some of the answers he needed for questions that came later.

Simply remembering those questions made him flinch involuntarily as he set his glass down on a table after having stepped through the door. This was only one of four "rooms" on the ship after all.

It wasn't like the size or look of the ship really mattered anyways. Outside it looked like it was a slightly modified version of the old Concord. The modifications being that is was half as long, probably double the width, and there was an addition of four 'engines' under the wings (two on each side). It was about a third shorter than the original airline had been since it was only transporting him, and the width had been doubled for some of the extra interior space. The entire ship was made of the same dull gray metal that the interior was.

Also, though not noticeable unless you were up close and had a magnifying glass, the entire ship was covered in runes. They were what powered the ship, all of its defenses, and was the 'fuel' for the engines. It was also what kept the 'roar' of the engines down to a dull hum as they weren't being used fully. It was also why on the inside the ship there was so few places. Because of the runes and the metal, the space inside could be altered magically. It wasn't like it was done a lot anyways with how sparse Harry kept everything.

The first room and front of the ship was what many would call the Bridge, since it was where he controlled and navigated the ship. The one he was in was a mixture of things. To the left of the door was his bed, simple with enough room for just him that was ten feet long and five feet wide. He didn't need it that large, but the mattress itself was naturally that size and he never really found a need or desire to alter it with magic. Outside of repairing it every now and then that is…

To the right of the door was first his closet, which was magically expanded to hold his clothes, however small in number they were now, and the two 'suits' he used if he ever needed them. One was for working on the outside of the ship while it was in space, and the other was for random planets he came across where the atmosphere wasn't livable without it. The expansion was arguably just for those since the clothes barely took up any space at all, even with the three pairs of boots he wore. Placed just after the closet was a simple 3 feet across and wide table, and stood only three feet high with simple chair pushed under it. It was on this table in where he placed his empty glass. Right after the table was the 'door' to what would be the third room. This was his bathroom that held his shower, toilet, and sink. To the left of this door, which made it directly across from the door to enter the Bridge, was the door that led to where the engines where, and an isolated box that was where his food stores were stashed and kept under stasis.

Following his bed and opposite the door was a simple dresser made of that same dull gray metal with four drawers, and just like the closet, each drawer was expanded. In each drawer was a plethora of things he had acquired and collected over the years. Those in the bottom drawer where various things he didn't think about that often, just items that had caught his eye and he had picked up for one reason or another at the time. The second to last drawer had what he had been given as gifts. These didn't mean much to him in some regards, as all of these had been given to him by various cultures from the planets he had visited. Nothing in this drawer was from Earth though as the second from the top held all of his collections of gifts and knick knacks he had collected from the last vestiges of the Human Race. He considered that his third most prized section.

The top drawer however, held everything he had in relation to his friends and family before the world went to shit. That was a time he'd rather not think about, as every time he did, it made him angry and even more depressed than he had become. Everything in that drawer was his second most coveted and prized possessions.

What he considered to be his absolutely most coveted and prized things though were what was on top of the dresser. These were pictures, some plane and what was once called 'mundane,' 'non-magical,' or 'muggle' ones, the rest, all magical. They were of his friends and family, his loved ones, the people who had died so long ago, the ones he wanted to be with again so badly his chest hurt every time he looked at them.

On the far left were three pictures, two were magical and each of those sat on either side of one that was muggle. The first magical one was a picture he had been given in his youth by his friend Hagrid, the gentle half giant. It was of his parents James and Lily, twirling and laughing in each others' arms. They would stop every now and then and both wave one hand up to him, the other arm still keeping their bodies entwined, before going back to twirling and laughing.

The second magical picture was one that had taken him years to find. It was of his paternal Grandfather and Grandmother, Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter nee Black. They were in a similar state as the picture his father and mother where in, though instead of laughing as James and Lily were, they had simple smiles on their faces. That and it was obvious they were much older than his parents where in their picture. He had chuckled when he first saw the picture as he now understood exactly where his father had inherited his looks.

Charlus was an average height for a Potter, a couple inches under six feet tall, but had the unruly black hair that Harry had come to recognize on every picture he had seen of his father, and also every time he looked in the mirror. He had a warm smile that was literally oozed charisma that he had seen on some memories of his dad as well as the same brown eyes. It was Dorea though that had made him laugh the most. While he remembered his dad being tall, even taller than his Grandfather from what he remembered being told, his Grandmother towered over them both at a good seven feet four inches tall.

On top of that, she had a voluptuous full figure that would make most men drool. Her eyes were of a dark gray, a trait common amongst the Blacks, but for her, it was mostly due to her heritage. That being she was a sixth generation child descended from a Giant. That was through her mother's side of the family who was once a Bulstrode. Adding into that was the grin that just screamed mischief and he wasn't disappointed as every now and then when Dorea and Charlus stopped to wave, the arm that stayed wrapped around Charlus' shoulders would move a bit to give him bunny ears. Whenever this happened, Charlus' picture would role his eyes, but his grin got bigger before they went back to twirling together.

The final picture though always made Harry choke up a little. It, like the picture of his grandparents was of an older couple, but these two had nothing to do with relations by blood. They were of Robert and Rose Granger, the only two non-magical people he knew better than most, and arguably his surrogate mother and father. The last part hadn't come about for quite some time, but it did in time, though not under good circumstances. Their passing had been amongst the hardest for him to deal with, topped only by a select few.

Those thoughts forced Harry to tear his gazes away from those three pictures to the ones that aligned the right side and the back of the top part of the dresser. These were of all of the people he considered friends as well as his family. Some pictures were from his Hogwarts years, and the rest were from after the war. Granted there were a couple with rips in them where a section was missing, but he tried not to think about that. Those rips were intentional. They removed a piece of that time that he did not want to remember, or rather scorned and hated.

At the very front though were the two pictures that always made the pain in his chest hurt the most. His eyes came to the one on the right first. It was of him and Hermione and had been taken maybe three or four years after the war had been concluded. It was after he had completed both his field and academic training to become an Auror, but also his best friend's birthday.

He had surprised her after he had been discharged that day as she, while still going through the field training when she could, was working at that time on her legislature to help House Elves. She had finished the legalese of it earlier in the month and it was scheduled to be taken before the Wizengamot at the start of October. The only thing she was working on with it now was getting support to put it through, and her main backer on it was Harry, as he had a better support base since he killed Voldemort.

She had been excited when he had come to her flat at the time dressed semi-casually, and all but abducted her for the day out to see a show and treat her to lunch. It had been during the walk to lunch that they had the picture taken at Hyde Park. It was a kind of impulsive thing at the time, but they had been talking and joking about their following their respective careers as they passed a section of the park walkway that was along the pond. They both stopped along the railing to stare out over the water when an older gentleman started to pass them.

Having brought a camera with him, Harry had asked the gentlemen to take a picture of him and Hermione, catching her off guard though she had a smile on her face when even as she had hit him in the arm briefly for stopping what they had been talking about. It was just before the old man had taken the picture that Harry had surprised her again by picking her up bridal style and made a joking move as if he was about to throw her over the rail. She had shrieked at first, but when it was it clear he wasn't about to throw her over, as he still had a firm hold on her, and simply just span about once with her in his arms before setting her back down, she was laughing while beating his chest. Once on the ground she did make sure to give him a good smack upside the head.

The old man had chuckled at the display, not really knowing that the camera he had taken the picture with, since it looked like a muggle one, had actually captured the entire small event. He simply handed the camera back to Harry and walked off muttering under his breath slightly with a smile on his face. Hermione hadn't heard his muttering but Harry had. It had given him pause then as all he had heard was, "Silly young couples in love."

His pausing had come because he couldn't really refute the statement, but at that time he was engaged to Ginny Weasley and Hermione was engaged to Ron Weasley. He didn't know the full implications of the statement then, but that was when he had started to work out a major problem in his life that wouldn't be answered till much later.

In fact, it wouldn't be until September 2, 2017. It was that date that had brought the world down around him; the day that had caused him so much pain; the day that for had started a long and dark time for him. It was why he was drinking on this day, so many, many years after that day, to try and keep the memories of that day away, and to dull the pain that even now, as he no longer could hold back the memories, caused him an ungodly amount of agony and grief.

_**SEPTEMBER 2, 2017, The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole**_

_Harry Potter was smiling as he walked down the long dirt road to The Burrow. He had just got off work for the day early right after lunch. It wasn't like he was fully needed in the office at the moment anyways. Being Head Auror had its perks after all. Not to mention the 'other' job he had that no one knew about as Executive Officer of the Unspeakables. He had been approached to be an Unspeakable about a year after he had killed Voldemort to be part of their combat and research arm. He had worked hard at It, especially as a research and tester for understanding all the nuances of magic. It all but forced him to start learning about the subjects he hadn't known of before, namely Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, but he found he rather enjoyed the subjects and ultimately what they could be used for._

_After nearly twenty years, the only one who was above him was his boss, and that was only by virtue of the old bastard having been there for a damn long time. Not that Harry cared really, especially as being the head of a department in any shape meant horrendous amounts of paper work .Even if he was younger, stronger, and magically more powerful than the old codger, no sane person wanted double the amount of paperwork they had to deal with._

_But all that paperwork in both jobs had been filled, or designated to people lower in the pecking order to finish as was the case with about half of the paperwork from his Head Auror position. He had flooed ahead to The Burrow since his wife Ginny was meeting with her mum and brother for lunch. Not to mention Hermione would be there as well as she and Ron had taken the first couple days of September off as usual. Their youngest kids were also at primary school, so it was just the adults._

_He enjoyed meeting with his friends on days like this. Days with little paperwork and time to just sit around and talk for long stretches of time. Granted, those days had been few and far between as of the past fifteen years. That thought made his good mood dim a little. It brought up the thought that the only time he ever had times like this; it was always at The Burrow, and always him, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Molly. Arthur would always be out at his office in the ministry, George would be stuck at the shop with Angelina, Bill and Fleur stuck at Gringots or off doing something for them, Charlie still over in Romania with his dragons, their kids off at school, and any of their other friends always busy with work or some such. That part always bothered him as it made him suspicious, but the feeling usually didn't last._

_His thoughts about his busy friends and family however where brought to a very sudden and abrupt halt as he heard a very familiar indignant shriek from his best friend came from inside the kitchen as he was no further than a step inside the door._

"_**WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS? THESE ARE LOVE AND LOYALTY POTIONS YOU WERE TRYING TO PUT IN MY DRINK!"**_

"_What the hell, who would be putting those in her drinks?" Harry thought as he silently moved to look into the kitchen. What he saw made him pause in shock and confusion. _

_Standing at one end of the table was his best friend Hermion Weasley nee Granger, arms at her side, her entire body shaking with a look of absolute fury etched on her face. This was the part that had shocked him as he hadn't seen this much expression on her face in some time. Usually it was either a slightly glazed look of confusion or thought, or a distant, indifferent look as she was busy with work. The former was the one she usually wore at these rare meetings as well at the start of each month whenever he saw her at the ministry. Her brown hair, which was normally in a pony tail as of late, especially on off days and since it had been tamed somewhat from its former bushiness, was back to being bushy and frizzy as he could feel a slight charge around her reacting to her magic. Not many people could detect the slight charge as most witches and wizards didn't understand how to feel out the subtle ebb and flow of magic around them outside of some powerful spells, like that of the Patrouns Charm. Granted, most witches and wizards hadn't spent the better part of nearly two decades studying magic._

_At the other end of the table, and this was the part that confused him. He saw his wife and best mate sitting down both with looks on their faces he had __**never**__ seen before. Ron had his arms placed on the table, hands entwined with a vicious smirk on his face. Ginny had her arms crossed over her chest with a disgusted sneer on her face. He minutely noted that he could see her wand poking out behind her from underneath her right armpit. Both had their eyes glued to the angry Hermione._

_Adding to the confusion was the sight of Molly Weasley standing slightly behind both of her two youngest children with a slightly indignant look on her face, but the indignant part was small in comparison to the sneer that was on her face that Harry had seen on very few peoples face prior. Draco's during his Hogwarts years for sure. Lucius' face almost perpetually, same for Voldemort and Snape. She also had several vials in her hands, all of which looked full about half full currently._

"_I'm surprised you even noticed them being put in your drink at all after all this time. I mean it's been about twenty two years now for the loyalty potion, and almost twenty for the love one," the voice of his wife said with venom, causing Harry to blink in confusion. He didn't remember Ginny every having that much venom in her voice, well with the exception of the start of his Sixth year where she would constantly put down Fleur and call her Phlegm._

_The look of furious outrage mixed with shock on Hermione's face at that. Harry took all the expressions across her face in with a slight sense of joy. He liked the expressive Hermione… a lot!_

"_You've been using potions on me for years? Why the bloody hell for? What gave you the right to do that to me?" Hermione screamed with a tremble in her voice. Harry could easily see tears starting to develop in her eyes that burned with passion and clarity he couldn't remember having seen in a very long time._

"_It should be obvious to you by now __**Herms,**__" Ron said, his voice having just as much venom as he mentioned Hermione's hated nickname and with a sickening glee to it that made Harry's mouth drop open in shock as his head snapped to stare at his 'friend.' It was way too similar to how most purebloods said mudblood._

"_You were getting too close to Harry after that fool of a Black died in the Ministry. He started to focus too much on the advice you were giving him on learning more so he would be better prepared against You-Know-Who instead of what Dumbledore had already laid out for him to do. Not to mention he didn't want any possible way for the contract he had setup between Ginny and Harry to be married found and voided until the war was over. He also set up a contract between you and me that summer, but left the date for when it should be fulfilled open so it could be altered after he learned he wouldn't survive the year. After all, he couldn't have someone like you pointing out so many of the problems with how our world works to someone like Harry, especially when he learned that he had several Lordships to his name. And he sure as hell didn't want a simple muggle born like you influencing him with the power those titles bear. Besides you think you're alone in being doused in potions? Harry's been getting the exact same potions and then for quite some time, though the love potions keyed to Ginny and the loyalty potions keyed to me and Dumbledore had to be increased to almost lethal levels to get him away from you."_

_**That**__ made Harry's thought process screech to a halt. He had been ingesting love and loyalty potions for years and he didn't even realize it? A loyalty potion keyed to Albus Dumbledore and Ronald Weasley? And his marriage to Ginny had been a setup to keep him away from his lordships and Hermione? Wait, Lordships? He actually had a title to his name, and more than one at that? What the hell?_

_The next words brought his attention back to what was happening. Idly in the back of his thoughts a voice wondered why he wasn't reacting to what was going on. He felt he should be speaking out or something at the very least._

"_You… you told me you had that contract made up after you proposed to me! You said you told my parents it was part of wizarding tradition! You said you got my father's blessing and everything! It even had your father's signature and I know Arthur wouldn't do this to us! Why… How could you do this to me? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HARRY?" Hermione demanded, though her voice was quavering as tears started to streak down her face._

"_So like Hermione, always looking out for me," that small voice in the back of his head said, though now it was louder. With it came a slight burning in his chest that he hadn't felt since his fifth year. It had been so long that he couldn't identify exactly what it meant._

"_Oh your right about Arthur signing that contract and him not agreeing to use potions on you dear," Molly snorted with disgust, "While I love him to death, he lacks a certain mindset to do what is necessary for our world. Albus had to put him under the Imperious to get him to sign those contracts. How do you think he got your father to sign it as well? It was odd that a muggle would be able to resist every sort of compulsion charm to get him to sign __**but**__ the Imperious Curse. Ginny dear, why don't you show you tell Hermione here how you really feel before Harry gets here."_

"_Of course mother," Ginny said with a sickeningly sweet voice that sent all of Harry's warning bells off, and all the training he had done as an Unspeakable and as an Auror came barreling through his thoughts to save a life._

_The next couple of seconds were burned into his mind forever though as he had reacted too slow. He would watch in horror as Ginny whipped her wand out from under her armpit and pointed it at Hermione. His best friend had seen the move and had moved to draw her own wand from its holster on her forearm as he heard the two dreaded words screeched from his wife like a banshee._

"_AVADA KEDAVARA!"_

_That sick, twisted, evil green light that had haunted his dreams for years in youth without knowing that it was called the 'Killing Curse' until his fourth year at Hogwarts erupted from Ginny's wand. That horrendous, unforgivable curse that murdered his parents, murdered a classmate, murdered hundreds if not thousands of people rocketed through the air towards his best friend._

_Without thought he had lifted his hand towards his best friend, open palmed at first. It extended and then he closed his fingers as if gripping a rope and pulled, hard, as if pulling said rope with only one thought on his mind. Get Hermione out of the way of that curse! _

_He watched as Hermione's body was yanked towards him, reacting to his silent plea as his magic pulled her. _

_But he was too slow._

_The curse struck her in the upper right portion of her chest as her body sailed through the air towards him. By the time she had reached him, not even a second from when he had pulled his hand back in a desperate attempt to save her, she was already dead._

_He grunted slightly from the impact of her body but immediately fell to his knees as he cradled her in his arms and stared at her eyes, wide in shock and horror. Those beautiful, chocolate brown eyes that had started to show more emotion than he remembered were now staring back into his, lifeless, soulless, dead._

"_Hermione… No!"_

_Odd, he didn't recognize his own voice for a second. It was mixed with a gut wrenching sob that ran rampant through his body as tears started to burn behind his eyes. But with that gut wrenching feeling that was making him shake, that burning sensation he had felt in his chest earlier was like an inferno._

_Of course, _**now**_ he remembered what it was._

_It had two parts and feelings to it. One had taken him years to identify for what it was, and it was simple once he understood what the emotion was._

_Love; plain; pure; simple. _

_The other he knew quite well, and that was rage. In all its spectacular and disastrous glory, he could feel the rage burning through his system and he could feel his magic reacting to said rage. _

_He came to understand parts of both rage and love during his fifth year. The former he wouldn't understand fully until his godfather had been ripped away from him and his headmaster had suddenly dumped a prophecy on him on top of everything else that had happened that night. That wonderful bit of news led to his first bout of absolute fury and resulted in the destruction of over half of the headmasters office. _

_He had also started to understand love, at least in part, by how worried he had been about Hermione. At the time he couldn't tell exactly what type of love it was, but he knew that whatever type it was, he couldn't stand the thought of losing her. Later, he had thought it was platonic in nature, and he had found romantic kind of love in his wife Ginny. That_** those**_ had apparently been a potion induced lie and he had swapped the types of love he had for the two only fueled his rage more. Now though, he could label his feelings for the wonderful creature in his arms properly, and that old man's comment from so long ago came back to him, finally making sense._

_Gently he reached his hand up and closed Hermione's eyes before leaning in and kissed her rapidly cooling forehead gently._

"_I'm so sorry I didn't see this sooner," he thought sadly as he removed his lips then laid her body down on the floor. Once she was there he stood slowly, never taking his eyes off her until he stood._

_When he was finally standing fully, his sad and soft expression hardened instantly as his head snapped to stare at the three still in the kitchen. All three had followed Hermione's body in mild confusion as they wondered how her body had moved so fast and unnaturally. Ron and Molly had even both gone for their wands as she moved._

_When they saw Harry catch the now dead Hermione though, all mental functions ceased. They watched silently as he closed her eyes, kissed her, laid her down, and then finally stood. It was when he turned his gaze on them that their brains started to kick in._

_Harry was angry. Harry Potter, the man who had stood toe to toe with arguably the greatest Dark Lord in history, and had not only taunted the man, but had beat him, was angry. Harry Potter, Head of the Aurors, the only wizard that made criminals run on principle alone when he showed up at a crime scene, was angry and all that anger was being directed at them._

"_H-Harry! Mate! When did you get here?" Ron asked, his voice squeaking as he tried to stare Harry in the eyes. Granted that was a little hard at the moment as he couldn't remember ever seeing Harry this mad before._

_No, mad and angry were not good quantifiers for his expression. A controlled cataclysm of fury might have been better, but Ron was neither bright, nor understood some of the more 'muggle' terms. Not to mention his question seemed to infuriate the glasses wearing man even more as his eyes seemed to both darken and glow at the same time._

"_You know, I _would_ answer that question, but I think you already know the answer to that don't you Weasley?," Harry said, his voice dripping with malice and contempt._

_The rage he felt burning in his chest at the sight of this… this THING that he had called a friend for over twenty years._

"_Harry, love, it's not what it looks like," his wife tried to plead with him. Her own voice was shaking in terror at the sight of Harry. _

_His gaze snapped to hers and she felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest and run in fear. Those killing curse green eyes were now quite literally smoking. They had darkened and reflected that same horrible green but now his entire eye was a glow and smoking as magic seemed to be pooling and escaping from them._

"_Is that so Ginny? How then would you like to explain why I find my best friend, dead at my feet, by the hands of the woman I supposedly love? Would you care to explain that to me? Can you explain to me why I find myself standing above the only thing that kept me from becoming the next Dark Lord? Can you explain to me the reason why you took away from me the only thing that kept me from saying 'fuck it' to the wizarding world and let it burn to the ground?"_

_Ginny couldn't think of any answer as during his rather rhetorical questions, he had also suddenly summoned all three of their wands. Well four since apparently Ron had another in a holster on his non-main wand arm and it had gone flying into Harry's hands. Granted, it was the holster, the wand still inside it, and part of Ron's now ripped shirt._

_She couldn't think of anything as she watched in morbid fascination as he casually held all four wands between his two hands, his own wand nowhere to be seen, and quite literally set them ablaze right there in his open palms. The wood and cores inside burnt to ash in seconds before the fire simply blinked out and Harry brushed the ash from his hands, away from Hermione's body, and never turning his gaze from Ginny._

"_Harry, dear, you have to understand. It was for your own good. Albus wanted what was best for you!" Molly's voice finally entered her own two cents. She didn't realize as she spoke she was adding more fuel to a firestorm._

"_I see," Harry said coldly as his gaze shifted to the older woman._

_He had never fully considered this woman as a mother. She was too overbearing, too smothering, and just too damn forceful to anyone who disagreed with her view of the world. That apparently also condoned her use of potions to control people._

"_Well, seeing as how you supposedly think I couldn't figure out what was good for me on my own, and manipulated my life to follow some fucked up plan set out by an old fuck, I guess I'll have to take out a page of said man's views. You said he had plans for my life based on his Greater Good and he used you to make me follow that path?"_

_At their nods, he wondered if they idly if they even knew what they were admitting to._

"_Alright then, I'll make this simple and make you follow a path I place before you. I, Harry James Potter, by right of conquest in defeating the dark wizard born Tom Marvolo Riddle, alias known as Lord Voldemort, due herby claim all Life Debts owed to me by Molly Weasley nee Prewett, Ronald Billius Weasley, and Ginerva Molly Potter nee Weasley," Harry started and watched with a malicious grin as all three red heads suddenly paled, "By defeating the self proclaimed Dark Lord, and by removing the last piece of his soul, I claim, with magic as my justice, the lives and magic of Molly Weasley nee Prewett, Ronald Billius Weasley, and Ginerva Molly Potter nee Weasley to do as I command in repayment. Repayment for these Life Debts shall be considered fulfilled by me with the following: First, upon written and full confessions of every crime they have committed on their own or acted as an accomplice against Harry James Potter, Hermione Jane Weasley nee Granger, and anyone else in the the wizarding world at large; second, they shall make a copy of said confession, giving me the originals; third, they will then take the copies to the Ministry of Magic atrium and once there they shall gain the attention of everyone at the ministry, specifically that of the Minister and the head of the DMLE; fourth, they will renounce all vows of marriage via magic, declare all their crimes publicly though separately; and finally, they shall take their own lives with the Killing Curse, powered with every ounce of magic they have in their bodies. Only when these steps have been completed will I accept their repayment fulfilled. So I have spoken and request that magic be justice, __**SO MOTE IT BE!"**_

_Harry had started in a controlled tone at first when calling in the debt, but as he kept going, his tone became harsher and his voice started to get louder and louder. The last four though were where Harry lost control on his anger, and in hindsight, a good portion of his magic as well. He had felt something snap with the rage burning inside of him and it felt like his body was being drowned in rapidly growing pressure throughout his body. He figured much later, on top of the power he was focusing into the oath, his magic was purging every bit of foreign magic attached to his system, starting with those from the potions he had been apparently taking._

_On those last four words though, he felt his magic flare out him like a fire. He could feel it as it charged the air and blanketed The Burrow in a fog like feeling of magic. Idly he wondered if the three before him could feel the pulse his magic had as it took to his request._

_It didn't take long to figure out magic had accepted and forced the three to do exactly as had said. The three had gasped upon his final wording and had been compelled to follow through with the orders. The sheer amount of things they had to write down made Harry feel sick, and when any of them had started to try and get him to renounce the calling in, he simply stared at them, not knowing his eyes were still smoking, until they went silent._

_It had taken nearly three hours, and was just after two o'clock when they were done and had duplicated the capacious amount of paper they had filled out with their crimes. Ginny and Molly had silent tears in their eyes as they mentally tried to plead with Harry, but he didn't care. Ron looked apoplectic, as his face was bright red and scowling, but he didn't say anything._

"_This is where the plan of an apparently deranged old man led you. I hope you are happy with the results," Harry said coldly as the three handed over the originals to him, and he handed them back their wands, before walking to the floor and going to the Ministry._

_Once the last of them had left, the rage diminished like a candle blown out in the wind. It was still there, burning in his chest, but it didn't have as drastic a control on him as it did a second ago. Now though that burning was overwhelmed by the wrenching feeling again as he turned to Hermione. He had already shrunk and pocketed the documents in his inner coat pocket. It was where he kept all of the evidence he acquired on a crime scene and didn't want anyone else messing with before him._

_Sobs wracked his body as he walked over to her now cold body. He had put it under a stasis charm right after the others had started to repay their debt so as to keep the body from going through the stages of rigor mortis and becoming stiff and hard to move. With great care he picked her up and walked out of the house and down the lane. He was very tempted to burn The Burrow to the ground at that point, but knew that it wouldn't do a damn bit of good at this point. It wasn't like he would never set foot in that place again._

_At the end of the lane, he apparated silently with Hermione cradled against him to the doorstep of her parents house in Crawley. He had been here a lot right up until she had married Ron. After that they had seemed to become somewhat distant to him, though still friendly. Looking back on it now, he wondered if they thought that with how much time he spent with Hermione and them, that they thought he would be the one to marry their daughter instead of Ron. The red head had met them enough times to count on one hand with fingers to spare, and that included the wedding._

_He pushed the doorbell slightly awkwardly with his cargo and he heard it ring several times briefly. He waited a couple of minutes before ringing the bell a second time. During those few minutes it had started to rain, something he hadn't even noticed about the sudden change in whether as he waited. It was on the third ring, a total of about 8 minutes before someone answered the door. It was a slightly confused Rose Granger that had answered in a bathrobe and a tower wrapped around damp hair._

"_Harry?" she asked before taking notice of the weather, his soaked clothes, his sad expression, and then finally what he was carrying in his arms._

"_Oh my god, Hermione! Harry is she alright?"_

"_N-No," Harry's voice had croaked, "C-Can I come in?"_

_His use of addressing himself and saying Hermione wasn't okay made Rose's heart skip a beat before ushering the soaked and what she thought was an asleep Hermione into her home. It would take nearly half an hour after Harry had walked into the living room and tenderly lay Hermione on the couch, before breaking down into sobs and hugging her body and apologizing over and over again, before Rose would finally get her answer to what was wrong with Hermione._

_The statement that her only child was dead, murdered no less by the woman who was Harry's wife set Rose backpedalling and falling into a recliner grasping her chest. The following story of how it came to be, the story behind how Hermione's marriage to Ron and his to Ginny had been setup, how they had been doused with potions again and again on varying levels for over two decades, and the following calling in of the life debts and what that entailed left Rose as much a sobbing mess as Harry was._

_It was nearly six o'clock when Robert Granger came home to find his wife sobbing on her knees cradling an equally sobbing Harry Potter's head to her chest next to the body of his daughter. He took this in instantly and figured out something very wrong had happened and it took him a while to get his answer from the two still living adults. He had his own tears in his eyes by the end of finding out what had happened, but his face was also murderous, and if he hadn't already known that by now the three responsible for him having to bury his daughter before he himself died were more than likely already dead, or would be soon killing themselves, he would hunt them down and no one would ever find the bodies._

Even now, after so many years, Harry figured his knee jerk reaction was justified as that burning rage still flickered in his chest at the memory. Granted it was like a candle flame now compared to the firestorm he felt then. That was expected considering how long he had lived.

That part of the day though had another event in it that led to where he was now. Well, not entirely. He never did really figure out exactly why he lived for so damn long. He had an idea thanks to a lovely, wonderful, insightful, and slightly eclectic blond, but he _still_ hadn't been able to figure out how to do what she had suggested.

Thinking of said blond brought his attention to the last picture. This one caused him no less grief than the one of him spinning with Hermione in his arms by the lake. It was a picture of the last magicals on the entire face of the Earth, long before the planet blew up. The group was miniscule in comparison to what the magical world had become by the day of Hermione's murder. Well at least as far as Britain was concerned. By then, the magical population was roughly over 150,000 in Britain. He didn't remember the exact number, even then, as it didn't seem important at the time. And by only knowing the rough estimate, he never did figure out how many lives had been lost.

The picture itself was simple. It was similar to the one Mad-Eye Moody had shown him of the original Order of the Phoenix. Harry snorted briefly at the thought. The original order had died out long before the picture Moody had shown him was taken, but the paranoid Auror probably didn't think about how he had worded that statement then. The major difference between that picture and the one Harry was now starring at were the emotions of the people, their clothes, and their ages.

Whereas in the one Moody had shown, the people looked happy if a bit tired and war weary. The couples had hopefully smiles and the single individuals had ones of determination. Their clothes reflected the time in which they lived (that being the late seventies) and each had their own particular outfits and what not that they wore.

The one he was staring at now had no smiles of any kind what so ever. Each and every person had grim expressions on their faces and you could easily tell they were all resigned. On top of that were their clothes, while not quite what would be considered a military uniform, it was probably the closest thing to it for them. The outfits were simple black button up shirts, black cargo pants, and black shoes. These were all they wore outside of maybe a couple pieces of jewelry. The jewelry consisted only of signet rings, wedding bands, and watches. The watches were all the same though, nothing fancy, and worn by everyone. The final part was no one in this picture, with the exception of Harry, looked younger than in their eighties.

In the picture the people where set up in two rows with those in the front row all sitting, and those in the back row standing. The front row consisted of all women and going from left to right went: Angelina Weasley nee Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Fleur Weasley nee Delacour, Su Li, Astoria Malfoy nee Greengrass, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Hannah Longbottom nee Abbott, Pansy Parkinson, Minerva McGonagall, Katie Bell, Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Padma Patil, Luna Scamander nee Lovegood, Cho Chang, and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black. Of these sitting women, two were in wheelchairs, and those where Minerva and Pansy. The reason they were sitting in those instead of chairs were for the same reason. Minerva was missing her right arm at the shoulder, and her right leg bellow just past her kneecap. Pansy no longer had either of her legs from below just below mid thigh, and was missing both of her hands.

Standing in the back row where only four men who were standing at different spots down the line of seated women. From left to right it went George Weasley, Bill Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Harry himself. George and Bill where standing directly behind their wives with their hands resting on their wives' shoulders. Neville stood behind both Pansy and his wife Hannah, a hand resting on each of their shoulders. Harry stood directly behind Minerva.

Seeing these people almost brought out the sob in Harry's throat that had formed from looking at the previous picture. It was an odd collection of people for sure, especially considering their views growing up and then later in life. But it was what had caused all of them to come together that made him just as furious as when he had dealt with the three Weasleys' betrayal, and just as sad as well.

_**SEPTEMBER 3, 2017, Crawley, UK**_

_It had been a very restless night for Harry after he had told Robert and Rose how their daughter had been used and killed. They had taken some time to get themselves sorted before calling a funeral home and starting the process for Hermione burial. They collectively decided she would be buried next to her grandparents, people Harry had met only a few times before they had died of old age about ten years ago, and who had been a major influence on Hermione's life when she was younger. They had also decided to make sure the headstone read __**Hermione Jane Granger**__ as they wanted nothing to do with any memories of her being married to that loathsome cretin of a red head._

_They had taken her body there as well after they had made the call, and thankfully upon arrival the person who was in charge of the home was a squib so they didn't have to think of some other reason to explain Hermione's death and non-stiff body. _

_With her body being prepared for burial at the home, it had been a silent and somber ride back to their house and Rose had insisted Harry stay with them that night. It wasn't like he could complain at all since it had literally taken both Robert and Rose to drag him out of the car and into the house. Well, not fully drag, just get him moving and guiding him as he moved robotically._

_It was roughly five in the morning though when a frantic pounding on the front door woke all three of them. Harry had been asleep for maybe three hours by then as he kept having a dream that was re-enacting the scene of Hermione's murder over and over again. _

_Bleary eyed, he was the first one to the stairs, wondering idly how Robert and Rose had managed to get him up there in the first place. He was still in his clothes when he had awoken the first time, and had noticed he had been in their guest bedroom as well._

"_Potter! I know you're in there damnit! We have an emergency! Get your bloody ass out of there this instant!" a muffled voice screamed through the pounding of the door. He recognized that voice. It was the old and crotchety voice of his boss from the Unspeakables, Croaker._

_He opened the front door just as Robert and Rose made it to the top stairs. It had thankfully stopped raining sometime in the night, but there was a slight fog still hanging on the ground as well as a slight breeze, making Harry shiver._

_The crisp air forced Harry to wake up a bit before asking, "What do you want Croaker?"_

_His mind still wasn't fully awake so he didn't notice the glare the old man was giving him for how he addressed him. He also missed the look of pity and sadness that replaced it seconds later._

"_We have an emergency at Hogwarts. Sometime last night the school was attacked along with a couple muggle residences. We don't know by whom yet, or what the damage and body count is, but the school is in flames again, just like after you snuffed that wannabe Dark Lord. Following what transpired yesterday in the atrium, the Ministry is a nuthouse and the head of the DMLE has called in every Auror, Hit Wizard, and Unspeakable to go to Hogwarts and assess the damage. Typical ministry stupidity means that the last to be notified are you and me," Croaker ground out._

_The only words that processed in Harry's mind initially where 'body count' 'hogwarts' 'emergency' and 'yesterday.' While everything else was standard for a quick debriefing of a situation, those five words had a chilling effect on Harry that made him shiver violently as well as forcing his mind to wake up. That same wrenching feeling he had yesterday was back with a vengeance, followed by a chill induced fear._

"_Oh fuck, the kids!" Harry shouted before promptly vanished from his spot at the door. Robert and Rose blinked at the sudden disappearance for several seconds before their brains caught up that Harry was no longer standing where he was._

_Croaker had a similar reaction before he turned his gaze to the two elderly muggles. _

"_I'm sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. She was a right brilliant lass, and after hearing what those, abominations, did to her I wish I could have done something more for her."_

_That brought about fresh tears to the old couples eyes as Croaker reached in and gently closed the door before twisting on the spot and apparating away._

_He arrived a moment later at a designated apparation point in Hogesmead, the only point that was closest to the castle, before starting for the orange glow in the distance. From here you could normally see the towers of Hogwarts over the trees between the village and the castle proper. Those towers were no longer scraping the skyline and the only thing you could see from there was the deep orange/red glow of fire and the resulting smoke that billowed from it._

_He moved as quickly as he could down to the gates where he finally caught up with Harry. It was surprising at first to see the young man stopped at the gates but then looked to where Harry was starring and soon understood why. _

_There on the gate where the bodies of the Harry's kids, even his youngest who wasn't even attending Hogwarts yet. And the bodies weren't just limited to his own offspring. All of the Weasley children were there as well, including the orphaned Teddy Lupin. Each and every one of them had been speared through both of their shoulders by pikes. They were the only things keeping them attached to the gate, not to mention aloft in some cases. _

_To add the horror of the scene, there were several muggles as well and it took Croaker a couple minutes to identify them. They were the Royal Family from the muggle side of their world. Oddly enough, the Queen wasn't there, just all of her descendants. And to make things worse, outside of the vacant expression on each persons' face, each person had been slashed across their stomachs, their organs spilling into a bulge just outside the evisceration._

_It made Croaker sick to his stomach. Most of those people where just children and to do that to a child was morally repugnant._

_As the bile was rising in his throat though, he felt the subtle charge of the air around him. Magic was gathering quickly in one spot not far away from him, and it was gathering in a massive quantity very, very quickly. He glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye and flinched slightly._

_He knew Harry was stronger than he was. Hell, there was only person who was anywhere near as powerful as Harry Potter but that person wasn't sure as hell him, anyone in his department, and sure as hell not anyone who worked for the ministry. Truth be told, the only other person that came close was a teacher of the school that was now in flames, and if the building magic around Harry was any indication, the school was about to become a crater. _

_Well that or something close by was. You couldn't build up _this_ much magic and not bleed off the excess _somewhere.

_This was the Harry Potter that had made Croaker approach him in the first place. It wasn't just the sheer dumbfounding power that the boy had the potential to call upon and later control; it was how the aura of magic felt whenever he tapped into this power._

_It absolutely screamed death, and he knew of no one who had found themselves under the full weight of this power that hadn't run away screaming while pissing them self in fear, or simply wound up dead in short order. The former was the case when he wasn't angry or upset and he wanted to settle something without resulting in a combat situation. If you made him angry enough to invoke this reaction though, you were already dead; your body just didn't know it yet._

_When the magic stopped gathering around Harry, he was expecting the discharge to happen any moment and wondered if he would find himself in a sudden backlash of some sort. It had happened once before and he had spent a week in St. Mungo's because of it. That was when Harry was first learning to understand the subtleties of magic and had stumbled onto his unknown power._

_To his awe, the magic didn't discharge at all and stayed with Harry as he simply started to walk forward. The gates of Hogwarts had already been opened prior to him arriving, looking as if they where the Gates of Hell welcoming them._

_Beyond the gates though, that aura started to grow again, even as he walked. Croaker shuddered briefly as he followed. The charge in the air had started to cause him to feel like he was walking through mud and as if somewhat had placed a monstrous weight on his shoulders. He knew the reason why Harry's power had grown the second he had stepped through the gates. _

_Above the flaming rubble was the Dark Mark, the old symbol of Voldemort. It had shown up a few times since the bastard had died, each time by remnants of the once feared Death Eaters. Each time, the crime had been horrendous, vicious, and vile, but they had never really found out who had been sending the people to do the old work. That was mostly because there was usually nothing left of the person when Harry got through with them._

_But it wasn't just the Dark Mark that had made Harry react. No, that mark had little to do with his reaction. It was the corpses scattered around the grounds that had caused his reactions. Students and faculty were scattered across the grounds. People from every house, every year, lay dead and mangled outside._

"_Sweet Merlin," Croaker breathed seeing the devastation, "Who could have done something like this?"_

"_It won't matter who they are once I find them," Harry's cold and emotionless voice reached Croakers ears making him flinch again. _

_It was another aspect of Harry's power. He couldn't call it a positive or negative aspect as it was hard to judge. Harry was usually outgoing with his emotions, but when he tapped into whatever this power was, there was nothing there but a cold emptiness that sent chills down his spine._

_Croaker followed silently behind Harry for sometime as they searched the grounds, looking for any sort of signs of life. They found the additional bodies of a lot of Aurors, no doubt those who had already been sent to find out whatever had happened here._

_It was as they reached the shattered remains of the green house did they finally find someone. They both heard the distressed sobs of several women coming from inside a battered shed that looked like it had been through hell and back but was still standing. Around it were probably several scores of bodies, all dead, but thankfully these were of people dressed in the familiar garb of Death Eaters instead of students._

_As they got within fifty feet of the shed, another voice, deep, imposing, and very much male, screamed at them._

"_Stay the fuck back if you don't want to be obliterated!"_

_That made both Harry and Croaker stop where they were and look at each other, though Harry's eyes were dark, and the magic in his aura still gathered, it was obvious he recognized that voice as had Croaker. It was his grand-nephew after all, also the only other person that could even contend with Harry's power._

"_Neville, it's me Harry. I'm here with your Uncle," Harry's voice called across to the shack. It made Croaker shiver hearing the dead tone of his voice again._

_Slowly the door creaked open and the glowing of a smoking amber eye could be seen in the darkness of the shack. Croaker couldn't help but shiver again at the sight of that eye. It was the distinguishing physical trait that was shared between Harry and Neville. _

_Whenever they tapped their power, their eyes always started to glow and emit smoke that was a specific color. Harry's was a bright but deep green, which creepily enough for any who saw it, was the exact same color of the Killing Curse. Neville's was a bright amber, borderline gold color._

"_Harry, is there anyone else beside you two?" Neville asked, that same deep sounding voice still there. _

_His voice was the counter to Harry's cold emotionless one. While normally laid back and somewhat reserved when speaking normally, Neville's voice would reflect a great deal more of his emotions and reactions when tapping into his power. That didn't make it any less terrifying when you were under his scrutiny, it just didn't have the immediate effect that made you feel as if were going to die if you so much as looked at him wrong as Harry's did, just that you felt like it was your final judgment and whatever his final verdict was, that was it._

"_Just us," was that cold emotionless voices' response, "Who's in there with you?"_

_The door opened fully then, revealing Neville in a tattered black robe with soot on his face and his body smoking slightly._

"_Professor McGonagall, Pansy Parkinson, and Narcissa and Astoria Malfoy are the only ones in here besides me. Pansy and the professor both need medical help, is Hermione with you somewhere or on the way?" _

_Neville's face contorted to one of confusion as Croaker's turned slightly pale at the immediate reaction of Harry who had started walking. He had paused briefly in his steps and the aura he was radiating tripled instantly if not quadrupled. _

_Croaker was praying to whoever was watching this place on the planet that Harry wouldn't lose control of all this accumulated magic._

_The words following the increase though were enough to cause Neville to lose any and all focus he had on his own power and stare in shock at Harry. _

"_She's dead. Ginny killed her."_

_Once inside the shack, it would take several hours, and two low grade medical stunners to finally settle distraught women inside. The two Malfoy women had been the ones sobbing and Neville hadn't been kidding when he had said Pansy and Minerva needed medical attention. Both of the women were missing appendages and Neville had done his best to heal them. Harry and Croaker tried to do what they could to further heal them, which arguably wasn't a lot past finishing the closing of the wounds and making sure they were clean._

_It was as they were trying to heal the two women that they learned of who had attacked the school and what had happened before they got there. The only reason that Harry hadn't gone storming after the culprits responsible was that once Harry had finished bandaging Minerva, she had latched onto him with her one remaining arm and would not let him go as she sobbed into his chest. Something that scared Croaker was that the second she had latched onto him and kept him from running off, all of the magic surrounding Harry seemed to vanish._

_Croaker knew better though as the magic, while some had bleed off, had bleed inwards. How Harry's body contained and fused with that much power was anyone's guess, but he had a few._

_It could possibly was reacting to what Harry's emotions where telling him, namely to protect the old woman that he was now hugging back. Or it could be reacting to what his body wanted him to do in regards to the culprits and was withdrawing to wait until it could be unleashed fully on those responsible. Either way, he wouldn't be around to find out if _that_ theory was true. He had no such death wish, especially considering who would be feeling his wrath._

_It turned out that the Malfoy males were the ones responsible and had been up to their old games back when Voldemort was in power. The only difference this time was that it was solely the males acting. They had gathered all of their former colleges who had escaped persecution following the downfall of Voldemort and, just like last time, slowly amassed strength. This time though, Lucius was the one leading them, and he had become a more vile and vicious abomination of malice and hate than his late master. _

_He had used his view of the world to further his ambitions, and made a crueler, more violent force of Death Eaters. They didn't bear the dark mark, but they were Death Eaters all the same, at least those that joined up with him later to 'follow in the pureblood cause.' Apparently the man had used the fact that he had been pardoned from time in Azkaban due to Narcissa's actions in betraying Voldemort to slither his way into more pockets and corrupt more people than he had last time, he was just more cautious this time around. _

_That tidbit made Harry even angrier as he had been the one to vouch for the Malfoys, especially Narcissa as she had promised after the Battle of Hogwarts to testify against any and all Death Eaters. Even the ones caught years later, she did exactly as she promised and the fact he had helped cause this by supporting the family simply for Narcissa upholding her end of the bargain she had made with the court made him ill._

_But it wasn't just Lucius who had planned the attack last night. He had done it with his son and grandson, having been in the boy's life enough to corrupt him to his way of thinking. Astoria and Narcissa apparently had no idea of this, going so far to swear on their lives and magic that they hadn't known anything until it was too late. They had been out of the manor at the request of Draco and Lucius as they needed some time to get some work done that had piled up apparently. They were shocked when they got home to find not only Scorpius there instead of school, but discussing the attack on Hogwarts that would be happening shortly._

_Their sudden gasps had alerted the three males, who had then tried to stop them from running to warn the staff at the school about what was to come. They had managed to get away from the three and get to Hogwarts, but by then it was already too late. There were Death Eaters dragging bodies out from the main entrance, each and every one of them dead, and tossing them to various points around the grounds._

_To both of their horror, they recognized one of the Death Eaters involved as he was quite literally eatting a person who they couldn't identify past that it wasn't a student as the body looked older than the students. That Fenrir Greyback was still alive and part of this macabre scene chilled their bones. _

_They hadn't been at the gates long when they heard the three male Malfoys running down the path from Hogsmead. They ran along the inside wall of the grounds and had disappeared just inside the Forbidden Forest, both at a loss at what to do then and could only watch in horror as more and more bodies were brought out and tossed around the grounds. It would be almost an hour before they saw someone who wasn't a Death Eater leave the castle, and that had been Neville as he literally leapt through a shattered window, carrying a body over his shoulders as he ran._

_They had run out to help him and see if there was anyone still alive but he didn't even acknowledge their presence as he kept running to the shack they were in now. That was where they finally came across Pansy and when Neville had finally realized exactly who else was with him in the shack. He had briefly scared the hell out of them when he had rounded on them and almost killed them on principal alone, but they had told him what they were now telling Harry about what they knew and that was what had spared them._

_Minerva had confirmed what they had said, especially considering how Neville had found her. _

_She had been asleep in the Headmistress' quarters when she had been brutally roused by the three Malfoys. They had quite literally dragged her out of her bed and down the steps into the office by her hair. The sound of her screams had woken all the previous Headmasters and mistresses portraits and all of them watched in horror as each Malfoy took turns holding her under the Cruciatus Curse, all but two. One had left the second the screams started and the other showed no emotion during the torture. During each break before one of the other's would start the curse up again, Lucius bragged about how he had planned and planned for this day every since 'the Potter brat' had killed Voldemort the first time. He had started with conditioning his son to act as his 'spy' in the school and to act the ways he had through all his subsequent years at Hogwarts._

_He bragged how he had made him into an almost duplicate of himself, the only problem being mild bouts of his conscious coming up at inappropriate times, something he fixed once he learned he had a grandson. But he hadn't stopped there and molded his grandson to his ideals as well. He laid out the entire plan of his domination of the world as his master's last wish, and how he would fulfill it in his stead. The fact that he point blank had said his master wasn't Voldemort but an even greater wizard had made Minerva shake even more at the time. The only good thing the statement meant was that Lucius' master was already dead._

_The bastard then told her of his masters' and his plans on what to do with any and all witches who didn't bow down and serve him like he thought they should. Minerva had wanted to throw up during that but her body, which was already convulsing and none of its normal actions were happening._

_That had been where Neville had show up, blowing the door off the hinges, already bleeding from some stray spell fire as he had made his way to the Headmistresses office. The Headmaster's portrait that had left had come and awoken him and told him what was happening to Minerva. _

_It was as he was running to her office did he run into some Death Eaters. It wasn't many, and at the time they had no bodies with them so he hadn't known what was happening to the students. Granted those people didn't live to kill anyone else as he had learned his lessons during the war with Voldemort. All Death Eaters attacking school children in any way shape or form would be exterminated._

_He had started casting the a few seconds after he entered and had briefly assessed the situation. The Malfoys had already moved to take cover after his sudden and violent entrance. When they had taken cover, he moved and grabbed Minerva who was twitching and shaking violently by then. He had apparently been almost too late as the old women couldn't form coherent words, but she was still of somewhat sound mind and could respond to his inquiries via small nods or shakes as he moved her behind her desk after flipping it over._

_Neville and the Malfoys had traded spells rapidly and briefly from their covered positions before _something_ had flown from one of the Malfoys. He wasn't sure which one but it was what had taken Minerva's arm as it had sheered through the desk, her arm, the bookcase and books behind where they were hiding, and finally the stone wall beyond that._

_Her screams of agony had hid the incantation for the Fiendfyre that had erupted into to room mere moments later and Neville really wasn't sure how he had managed to get them out of that office and to the shack. _

_He remembered wrapping his robe around Minerva's torso to stop the bleeding from her shoulder, picking her up and running from the room in record time. The Malfoys had already left after casting the violent and dangerous spell. They hadn't made it out totally unscathed however as the flames had caught onto Minerva's leg (which Neville had somehow used a Cutting Curse to cut the leg off below her kneecap before the fire spread and consumed them both while running.)_

_He also remembered jumping through an already shattered windows of the great hall to the back part of the grounds where the greenhouse where and ran to one of the shacks that normally held the tools. It was inside that he found Pansy, her hands and legs already gone, bleeding profusely and her eyes blank, but she was still alive. As much as he disliked the girl for the torment she brought against him and other Gryffindors in their school years, he didn't hate her, and wasn't about to watch her die._

_He had placed Minerva down next to her after vanishing the pools of blood and cauterized the wounds somewhat to stop the flow of blood. The girl had screamed when he had done that, but it had to be done to keep her alive. He also had to do the same to Minerva who screamed just as loudly. Only when he had finished bringing the two women away from a sure death did he take note that Astoria and Narcissa where now with him, along with their brief conversation._

_It was when he had opened the door to leave did he see more Death Eaters than he remembered seeing at the Battle of Hogwarts. Reacting on instinct alone, his own power had flared as he ducked back inside warded the living hell out of the shack. A few people had seen him as he had stepped back in and slammed the door shut and spell fire had rained down on it as he set and cast the wards._

_Once they were up, anyone who got within fifty feet of the shack, specifically the door, would be within his range of senses and he would open the door and cast whatever spell was the first to enter his head. Nine times out of ten it was a simple Reductor, but based on his power, said Reductor turned any it came into contact with into a fine red mist if it hit directly, otherwise it ripped out large portions of their bodies.._

_After maybe twenty minutes of no one entering his range of sense did he finally have a chance to take stock of his surroundings in the shack, namely the volatile states of both Pansy and Minerva. As he did his best to heal what he could and try and ease whatever pain they had, Narcissa and Astoria had further relayed what they knew and didn't know about the attack, as well as the brief scene they had seen upon coming to Hogwarts to try and warn someone. Pansy's condition, namely that of her blank gaze wouldn't change until Harry arrived, and even then, she didn't speak at all. No one would get her story for quite some time._

_It wouldn't be until Harry and Croaker arrived that Neville could finally step out of the shack finally and see the horror that he had missed due to his tunnel vision from running from Fiendfyre. The chaotic and uncontrollable spell had consumed all of the interior of Hogwarts and it seemed the only thing that had stopped the fire was the fact that the castle itself was predominantly held up by magic and had thus collapsed as the fire took out whatever magic was keeping the structure up. The resulting dust and lack of magic stopped the magical consuming part, but didn't snuff the left over natural flames were still active as they still had fuel._

_That didn't even compare to the sight of hundreds of students brutally murdered, along with several of his fellow faculty and several mutilated bodies. He threw up on the spot at the sight of Harry's family on the gates._

While Hermione's murder had crushed Harry, that event damn near broken him, and was yet another blow to Robert and Rose as they learned the last links of blood they had to Hermione through her children where now dead. The event itself wasn't what had lead to the end of all magical beings except those in the picture. It was the death of the members of the Royal Family that a magical picture had been taken of, along with Harry's family and then the following massacre scene on the grounds that had been sent to several muggle news stations, as well as to the Queen herself with a simple message attached. _Magic exists and every person who isn't a pureblooded witch or wizard will follow the same fate as these pathetic excuses of humans._

Arguably, this was not Lucius' part of what ever plan he had, at least Harry had thought. The message stirred up a figurative Hornets Nest. It had caused the Queen and her Prime Minister to inform the United Nations, and through them the rest of the world about what had happened to the Royal Family, and the threat the magicals were to them. After all, how the hell else could someone kidnap the Royal Family from under their security details, their security systems, and move them from where they were sleeping without making any noise about what was happening, only for them to be murdered along with other children in a brutal manner and their corpses displayed as if it was the Middle Ages.

The Ministry had tried to intervene and negotiate with the Crown once they learned how far reaching the impact of the massacre had. Their mistake was that they had sent Harry to talk with the Queen and the Prime Minister as most of their Department Heads had gone missing, as well as a good portion of the ministry workers themselves.

Harry had brought Neville with him when he went as, if Hogwarts had still be standing, he would have been acting Headmaster since he was the only other surviving person on staff that wasn't injured. It was also because he was the only other person beside the Grangers and Minerva who could keep Harry somewhat in line if his emotions started to run away from him. He would have brought the other three with him but the Minerva was being taken care of at the Grangers at Harry's request (read command) to the healers.

No one in the Ministry could figure out what had been said been said during the meeting between Harry, Neville, the Queen, and the Prime Minister. The only for sure thing they could tell was that both Neville and Harry had shown up back in the Ministry itself two days after, both pissed as hell, with Harry turning in his immediate resignation from the Aurors, as well as stopping by Croakers office and doing the same. He hadn't taken much with him from his offices, just all of his research notes from his time studying the intricacies and subtleties of magic from his Unspeakable office, and all the pictures he had of his family and friends. Well, minus some sole pictures of _**particular**_ individuals.

It had been ten years after Harry's resignation and subsequent vanishing from the magical world that the storm of what was to come started. Not many magical knew what to expect. They knew the muggles now knew of their world thanks to the attack on Hogwarts and the murder of the Royal Family, but they had become complacent when life seemed to go on as normal. Nothing had seemed to change except some of the ones that did venture or mix with muggles more regularly than others got mixed receptions.

Then the first wave of attacks happened. It started suddenly with the wholesale destruction of the government systems than ran the magical communities around the world. Then came the invasion of large communal sites. In Britain, this meant Hogsmead, Diagon Alley, Knocturn Alley, and Azkaban Prison were hit first. Effectively, they were wiped off the face of the planet by bombs or the numbers of soldiers that somehow had found access around all the charms and wards to keep places like that safe.

Then the global wide Witch Hunt began that would see the destruction of all the witches and wizards in the world. Anyone or thing that fought the tide of soldiers wound up dead, and thus saw the extinction of magical creatures and beings that didn't have the sense to vanish from all sight but that of existence itself. The only people to be spared were young muggle borns, with the exception of very few half and purebloods. Those few were the ones who had been friends with muggle borns who themselves had been spared, and it was only the muggle borns pronouncement for their friends that kept them off the chopping block as it were.

The Witch Hunt had far more devastating consequences than could be imagined though. Magic itself seemed to have become affect by the devastation that was wrought on the magical world, and thus after the first year of the hunt, magical babies stopped being born.

Those that had magic still and had been spared were relocated into specific areas to be watched and monitored. They weren't totally confined to those places and could move freely outside of those communities, but they would be scorned by all but some of their closest family members. These communities would become smaller and smaller as magic receded from the world, and would eventually become nonexistent.

The only ones who had been spared from both the Witch Hunt and the relocation movement had been those in the picture. Harry had spent the ten year lull tracking down all of them and bringing them to an isolated place. Some were easy to find as they had stayed in contact with Harry through the years, however brief and far between those contacts had been. Others proved to take some time and had disturbing tales as to how they wound up where they had. The only ones he hadn't needed to find outside of Hannah, Narcissa, Minerva, Pansy, and Astoria where most of the remaining Weasleys. Bill and George had been disgusted when they had learned what their so called mother and siblings had done. Fleur and Angelina were just as upset, and in Fleur's case even more so as the idea of having your love manipulated in such a way was even fouler to a Veela than rape. Arthur and Charlie never showed up because they didn't need to. Their bodies had been found and identified amongst those left at Hogwarts.

Each member that joined Harry had their own stories to tell when they were finally found or showed up. Those stories began a long series of questions for Harry as he moved around the globe with his group searching for the others. Robert and Rose had been with him at the start after learning what was coming and wanted some form of retribution of their own on the world that had taken their daughter away from them. It had been after their funeral that this particular picture had been taken. They were the first of the group that would slowly die off until only Harry was left to find the remaining answers to the questions that had started him on this seemingly never ending quest.

Thinking about those questions that had lead to countless other questions which he did finally find answers too much later in his life, made him shake his head as he tried tore his eyes away that picture. It hurt too much to think about what had been done to them; what that conniving, manipulative, disgraceful, senile, depraved, and evil bastard of a man had done to the people Harry loved.

Sighing again and trying to shake off his morose thoughts he walked over to his bed and lay down, folding his arms behind his head as he stared at the dull gray metal of the roof of his ship. The simple idea of 95% of his ship being that exact same dull gray metal made him snort as it was a reflection of how his life had been for god knows how long now. He had stopped caring about how long it had been some time ago, though he had kept a detailed time log in remembrance of Hermione, and also so he could keep track of when another year had passed.

"Yea, simple gray with nothing going on, just like my life and whatever the fuck is keeping me alive and away from my family," Harry muttered to himself as he stared at his ceiling for a while longer before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

It wasn't that hard to fall asleep. It was always quiet in space, wherever the hell he was. Only the gentle hum of the engines and the faint buzz of power that kept his ship lit sounded in his ears.

It was a constant, dull, monotone sound, and it quickly made him slip into the gentle embrace of Morpheus. He was already asleep when a beeping sound from his bridge started up. If he had been there, he would have heard the warning sound turn on, though he wouldn't have needed to, he would have seen what could only be describe as a light green tendril of energy coalesced in front of his ship. With no one to change the course the ship still heading directly for the energy simply drifted right into it with Harry none the wiser.

**A/N: **Hope you liked the first chapter! Sorry if the end seemed a bit rushed, I promise most of that will be explained later.


	3. CH2: Time Spiral

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**CHAPTER TWO: TIME SPIRAL**

**TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, Year: 19,959 A.D.; Location- Unknown**

His mind always drifted as it slept. It was a weird sensation since he would be aware of each and every thought his R.E.M. cycle created to restore his brain as he slept and he could actually feel whatever was associated with some of his more intense dreams. Those ones usually turned into nightmares very quickly and he'd be awake in short order, only to remember the nightmare again in excruciating detail as his now active mind and imagination played with it until he could get a grip on the images and feelings.

He had a feeling this was because of how he had developed his Occlumency. He had learned not too long after the Battle of Hogwarts that what Snape had been doing to him was in no way shape or form a method of Occlumency training. All he was doing was making it easier for any person who could perform Legilimency to invade his mind. He learned _**that**_ fun fact just after he had joined the Unspeakables and they had demanded he learn to defend his mind.

His teacher had been appaled at Snapes method when they first found out. He never did find out if it was a woman or a man, and the only inclination he had was during his first session where the persons screech of "What?" had sounded decidedly more feminine, but for the most part the voice was very soft spoken and monotone and it was impossible for him to determine what sex they were as they always had been in the typical full baggy gray cloaks of the Unspeakables. Because of the 'training' he had with Snape and then the realization that he had piece of Voldemorts soul stuck to his own for over 17 years, his mind was a bit warped when it came to Occlumency. Nothing devastating or mood altering, but the defense of his mind had taken him and his instructor a while to come up with even a base foundation for defenses since any of the normal methods couldn't work.

After that he had developed his mindscape and based all of defenses around what his mindscape was. For quite some time it had been an image of Hogwarts back when he had first seen it in his first year, time frame and all. As he lived on in years and then later travelled through space, his mindscape changed to adapt to his emotional isolation. He still had his Hogwarts Castle defense, but it was no longer the sole structure for what his entire mindscape was built from.

Now, everything about the castle was as he remembered, it just held no people in it. Any door, classroom, office, or dorm checked would have everything in it that it normally did, just no people and leading to nowhere.

There was one place exception that would lead to his newer and arguably better defended mindscape. When he first started to make this new place, he had to laugh a bit at the irony. The entrance was in the exact same place as to what was once The Chamber of Secrets. Behind the snake encrusted door, and further still behind the enormous bust of Salazar Slytherin himself, was where his real mindscape awaited.

Past the bust of Slythering, the world of Hogwarts faded away and became the vast reaches of space, with nothing surrounding whoever actually made it this far into his head. If they managed to get that far, didn't panic at suddenly being in space and feeling the effects of the cold vacuum that it was, they had to figure out where each of his memories lay.

That would be an interesting dilemma for anyone as Harry had hidden and organized all his thoughts with various means of defense. First and foremost was the fact that the stars in the sky were false memories he had either concocted consciously, or was the remnants of a nightmare. These were his first defense past the castle itself.

The second part of his defense was where he kept everything else separated into two aspects, positive and negative. These were represented by two planets that were on either side of his mindscapes 'universe.' To even find either planet though, one would first have to unveil them as he had cloaked each to be invisible as their primary defense.

That wasn't to say they were the only two planets there. He had quite a few others as well, just as simple constructs of the ones he had visited. Most would think they were just the makings of his imagination. They wouldn't know that each planet actually existed. Besides, each planet didn't hold anything special, they were just constructs, memories themselves but without any emotions to attach them to any of his other memories. They were like art in a way, just something to look at and wonder.

The planets themselves were probably the only clear clue in his mindscape to what they held. His 'negative' planet was predominantly a desert. There was some life and vegetation there but those were of species that could only survive in such harsh conditions. This was also the larger of the two planets.

His 'positive' planet was the exact opposite as it was absolutely filled with life. It held a copy of every creature and plant he had ever seen in his long life. He knew that if Luna or Neville could actually see this planet they would be drooling over the various creatures and plants.

On both planets, the life forms that survived in those types of climates were the second to last defense of his mind. They would react violently to anyone who wasn't Harry, or at the very least, accompanied by his presence in his head. The final defense was that each and every memory, along with every emotion, were various life forms. They weren't always the same type of life form in any aspect with one sole exception.

That was where Harry found himself in his mind currently. He was at the base of what Harry considered the biggest damn tree he had ever seen. That was saying something too as he had seen some pretty big trees on his travels, the first of which had been on what had been where many of the creatures and plants of this planet had come from. This tree though was one he had only really seen in mythological texts, Yggdrasill. After all, how else would you be able to know what a tree that held 'nine worlds' together looked like except through myth?

The reason he had made this tree part of his mindscape was partially because of how the tree was described as 'connecting worlds.' Having a tree holding the entirety of positive emotions seemed fitting in that regard.

But as he stared up to where clouds lazily floated by, and knew that amongst those clouds were where the trees massive branches began. He then felt himself pulled upwards to the real reason he had put this tree in his mindscape.

Far above the ground, hidden amongst the clouds and branches, about three fourths of the total length of the tree itself, was a place in the center where he held his most precious of memories. A long time ago these would be considered his Patronus memories as they would have been what fueled the power behind it. The place itself was circular wooden room with a small single padded stool in the center.

It was the stool that Harry walked up to before slowly turning and taking in what was on the walls of the room. All along the wall held a collection of people's faces and each face was where he held every positive memory he had of that person. The people whose faces where here where those that he considered the closest to him.

Harry blinked in confusion when he looked around at the wall. Every face was gone and had been replaced by a plethora of animals, and it wasn't as if the animals were in the exact places the faces had been. They had all moved and separated into two groups.

The part of his mind that knew and understood this as a dream understood that what he was seeing was real, it just didn't understand how or what it meant. This was the first new thing his mind had created for him in quite some time.

"Beautiful aren't they?" a voice asked behind him while he was staring at the first group of animals. There 17 of them, seven of which he knew instantly.

He turned his body slightly to look over his shoulder at whoever the voice belonged to. He was used to some random apparition showing up in his dreams. Granted those ones usually turned into nightmares pretty quick, usually as soon as he saw the apparition.

Harry blinked a couple of times upon seeing this new one, well actually two.

It was a pair of people, a man and a woman standing side by side and about a couple feet from him.

The woman looked relatively average in some regards. She was five and a half feet tall, long pale golden hair that went down to her mid back, a rather soft face, and pale green eyes. Those were her normal traits. Well, arguably, those were pretty standard for any human. The part that was off was what she was wearing.

It looked like a weird mix of what the Greeks wore mixed with some obscure plate mail. From her shoulders down was a mixture of white and gold cloth. The cloth was what was based off of the Greek design. Attached on her thighs and around her torso were silver sections of chainmail. The specific piece around her torso also seemed to push up her bust. On her shoulders, however was where the plate mail part was, as there were a set of pauldrons on her shoulder. The extended out past her shoulders a good two feet, and attached to the back, spanning from pauldron tip to pauldron tip was a white cape. The pauldrons themselves where a mixture of silver and gold and had a couple of markings Harry had never seen before.

In her right hand was a weapon similar to a staff, but at the top was what looked like a couple of wings. Definitely odd and unique, but not the strangest weapon Harry had ever seen. Only adding to womans odd appearance was that even with the weapon and odd battle dress, Harry didn't feel threatened.

The man in comparison was plain. Six feet tall, dark brown hair and eyes, black t-shirt, gray jeans, and black boots. He had a smirk on his face that was usually associated with someone either about to pull a prank. That or they found something immensely amusing that whoever they were smiling at wasn't privy to.

Harry had a feeling it was the latter case.

"Interesting," Harry started as he turned to face the two fully, "Never had people look like you two before."

The woman smiled slightly at that as she walked towards him. She didn't stop once she reached him and simply walked around him and up to the cluster of animals. She raised her left hand to one of the animals and touched its face briefly.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured out what all of these beautiful creatures are, even after a couple seconds," the woman said. Her voice was soft but melodious, light and energizing. It was like standing outside in the sun and basking in its glow with a gentle breeze.

Harry moved his gaze from where he had followed the woman back to the large cluster of animals.

In the center were five of the seven animals he had recognized right off the bat. They were sort of set up like a compass, one directly in the center, one above, one to the right and left, and one directly below. In the center was a falcon, its wings tucked in at its side. It was a peregrine falcon to be precise.

The one above that was a large ash colored horse, or rather a breed of horse. It had eight legs which made it unique in its own right, the four eyes (two on each side, one right above the other) just added to its uniqueness.

To the right and left was arguably the same thing if it wasn't for their coloring of each animal. Each of them was what the European muggles had considered dragons. They where quadrupeds, as opposed to the bipedal ones he had dealt with way back when with the Triwizard Tournament. Their wings where attached to where their shoulder blades would be on their backs, and although batlike in quality, could fold in like a bird and rest alongside them as they walked. The tails had distinctive barbs on them as well that could open and close at a whim. And yet while both of the dragons shared so many similar traits, the one on the right had a royal blue, almost purple coloring to it, while the one on the left was a dark brown bordering black.

At the bottom was a wolf, similar in shape to that of a Gray Wolf, but it had a couple unique traits just like the others surrounding the falcon. Its head was slightly longer as where its ears. It too had unique coloring in that the predominant part of its fur was a deep purple with streaks of silver and dark gray.

During his studying of magic he had come across these animals, though not out in the wild.

It had been after the Witch Hunt and he had been talking with Minerva about animagus transformations. She had been teaching him how to go about the process to find what your 'form' was, giving all the information she had been taught when she had become one. The three biggest rules she had given him at the time were first- you can only be a non-magical animal, second- you couldn't choose your own form, and third- you can only have one form.

That had always made Harry curious since if you were a magical person by nature, and the transformation was one created via magic, why couldn't the animal be magical as well? Not to mention that since most of the transformation was based on how your magic reacted to what was considered your 'primal and animal traits and instincts,' why couldn't you have more than one form if you could identify and separate those instincts and traits?

It had taken him a very, very long time to find answers to those questions, which resulted in those particular five animals. They were his own animagus transformations, each based off of his more dominant, animalistic traits. The only one that wasn't 'magical' technically was his falcon form.

That brought him to the other two animals he could identify, a white snowy owl and a gray looking tabby cat. The owl was Hedwig, who had been his companion for those six years of hell at Hogwarts, and had been ripped from him do to a very stupid plan to move him from his relatives house to The Burrow. The other was the animagus form of Minerva.

Thinking along those lines made Harry look at the other animals a little more closely. They were well defined for the most part, but there were things about each animal that he figured he probably couldn't see. The images themselves were only 2D representations after all, just like the ones of the faces that had been here originally.

The rest were in smaller groups around the four forms that surrounded his falcon. Clustered closely to the darker brown dragon was a black panther with a white spot on its chest, another falcon- though this one was different from his Peregrine form- a Kestrel if he remembered correctly and the tabby cat form of Minerva.

Around the horse was another bird of prey- a golden eagle to be exact-, a coyote, and encircling the horse, eagle, and coyote was a very large snake. At first glance Harry had mistaken it for the basilisk he had slain, but it wasn't that _exact_ beast. It was one of the largest snakes in the world, an anaconda. Directly below his wolf like form were the images of Hedwig, another type of canine- a golden retriever-, and a chameleon. And finally, finishing up the group of animal images were the ones around the purplish colored dragon, and arguably the most diverse. They were a red tail hawk, a panda, and a Bengal tiger.

"Animagus transformations, at least most of them are," Harry said after a while, his sight lingering on the image of Hedwig.

It brought back a few memories of the beautiful bird. Her loss still affected him a bit.

"More like the representations of some people's nature. You yourself figured that out when you found the five that you have," the woman started as she turned back to him with a soft smile on her face, "Even your father and godfather had forms that were unique to their personalities were they not? James Potter, a stag. At the time he found his form he was single, prideful, and always wanted to be the center of attention, especially for your mother. A stag was perfect for how he was then. Then Sirius Black, loyal to the extreme, a man who would sooner end his own life before turning his back on those who had earned his loyalty. But he was _raised_ a Black, tainted however slightly by the darkness of that corrupted and doomed his family to death, that lead to him being a Grim."

Harry was a bit taken back by that. Most apparitions had no idea about his past, and even then never back to within the first twenty years of his life.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

The woman's smile stayed on her face but her expression saddened as she looked over Harry's shoulder.

The soft chuckle of a male voice came from behind Harry as the man soon joined the woman, his back now to Harry as he looked at the cluster of animals as well.

"I would be surprised if you had figured out who we are after having simply just seen us," the man said. His voice was deep and slightly warm, but had a hollowness to it that was slightly unnerving. It was as if he had no true emotions.

Harry watched in silence as he raised his hand up to his horse form and traced the neck and head.

"I guess though, for one whose strongest form is that of my own aspect, I should be more forthcoming."

That only made harry blink in confusion. The horse the man was currently staring at _was_ his strongest form, but it had taken him several hundred years to figure out why. It had only been while looking back through Earth's histories and mythologies that he had found what the form meant, or rather at least who it represented. His horse form was that of Sleipnir, the mount of the Norse God Odin that could be rode between the Norse understandings of Heaven and Hell, and was the very mount Odin would ride into Ragnarok, the Norse version of the Apocalypse.

Only through many years of testing and getting to know his form did he find out exactly why this form was his strongest. His falcon form was a bit obvious for him why it wasn't powerful, but out of all of his forms, nothing was faster.

It represented his instinct of wanting to fly, along with a need to fly faster than anything else. While a normal Peregrine falcon could dive at speeds of over 200 miles per hour, he could not only dive at over 500 miles per hour, he could actually fly horizontally and coast at close to 200 miles per hour. That was with use of his magic though and he didn't fly like that very often as the small frame of the bird couldn't withstand the force exerted on it for very long.

Both dragon forms where tied for being the second weakest forms he had, something that had made him laugh for hours at the irony that _dragons_ were weaker than anything else. That laughter had only increased as the closest depictions to the two forms had come from a _game _of all places. But alas, they were, even if he had found their origins at the same time he had found out the origin of his Sleipnir form. His brown dragon form was that of the ancient wyrm Nidhogg, and his purplish form was that of the ancient serpent turned wyrm Jormungand.

Both had all the 'known' standard features that dragons had. The ability to fly, even if it wasn't fast, and breathing fire in streams, cones, and even fireballs. But each form _did_ have their own unique traits that separated them. His Nidhogg form for instance could create supersonic winds while flapping its wings, or even from its mouth, while his Jormungand form could create ice storms with its wings, and breath cones of ice instead of its fire. A slight bonus to his Jormungand form was that it could also swim and breathe under water to some pretty impressive depths.

His wolf form had its origins just like his dragons and horse in Norse mythology, this one being after the wolf Fenrir. In this form he held such strength in his limbs and jaws that there were few things that he could rip apart and break. His spaceship was actually made out of the only metal he had ever found that could withstand that kind of pressure. But with that strength, not to mention the size of the form since it was roughly the size of a truck, meant he was also incredibly fast on the ground, especially when amplified by his magic. On top of that, if he ever howled in that form, the sheer sound alone would resonate with most everything around him causing them to rip themselves apart in the case of hard minerals and metals, and in the case of soft tissues (like organs and muscles,) they would rupture and explode once they reached a certain resonance.

Yet even with these forms, why his horse was his strongest form was because of what he could do with his magic. He had all the similar traits of a regular horse, though enhanced several magnitudes beyond what a normal horse could do due to its size and having four extra legs. But in this form, he could control also use every aspect of magic that he could as if he wasn't transformed. Adding on top of _that_ particular fact was that with his extra limbs, as well as eyes, he could jump to insane heights, run at speeds of close to a hundred miles per hour, and quite literally snort fire. He could even travel in a form that was similar to apparition and a phoenix's flame like travel, though it had taken him a while to learn how to utilize that form of travel.

But the power that made it the strongest, even it wasn't battle oriented, and that had freaked Harry out was the ability to see spirits and apparitions. It had taken him a while to relate that fact with the myth of Sleipnir being able to travel between all the worlds that Yggdrisil held together that allowed him to see spirits. The trait itself had bleed over into when he wasn't transformed, and being coupled with having seen as much death as he had throughout his life, he had been understandably unnerved when the first apparition had confronted him. He became grateful much later in life for the trait though as it had lead him to some awe inspiring discoveries about theories he had only heard about while back on Earth.

It was this 'aspect' as the man had put it that made Harry nervous. Being able to see spirits was something he had come to associate with death as most of the time, the person or thing that approached him was already dead, and he always attracted those dead spirits to him like a flame attracts a moth.

"If your aspect is actually death, why are you and your companion here then?" Harry inquired.

The slightly maniacal grin he got started to make him nervous. That was _never_ a good grin to see on someone he didn't know.

"I guess aspect isn't the best way to say that," the man started as his grin only got wider, "A better way to have said that would be, your strongest form has an aspect of what I exist as."

Harry frowned and his brow narrowed at that.

"You're a manifestation of death…" he trailed off, not really sure how to continue with that line of thought, especially as anything associated with death usually turned out badly for him, usually in the form of a friend dying.

"Close but no cigar," the man chuckled, the grin still on his face, "I mean, can't you tell the very being that created three items you control?"

Harry blinked at that, his frown still on his face as he thought about what three items he had that were associated with death that this man had apparently created. The only ones coming to mind were the Deathly Hallows which he had 'mastered' when was seventeen. But those items had been created by the Death him…

Harry couldn't finish his thoughts as the pieces fell into place about who, or rather _what,_ this man was in front of him. His knees buckled and he fell back onto the stool starring at the man slack jawed and with a good deal of fear.

His reaction only caused the man to start laughing loudly and the woman to sigh. It went on for a couple minutes with Harry doing a good impersonation of a fish out of water before the woman smacked the man upside the back of his head, causing him to yelp in pain.

He turned to the woman with a scowl on his face, only to see her scowling at him as well. Another few minutes passed before the man's grin was back and both people turned to look back at the still speechless Harry.

"I see you understand it now. I am Death, or at least what you know of as Death."

The man then did an over exaggerated bow, reminding Harry of Sirius and his over the top ways of addressing people in jest.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here though, especially as that story you read was about how I confronted your ancestor and his brothers after they had 'eluded' death by making that damn bridge and 'rewarded' them with items that should have lead to their quick demise right?"

Harry could only nod, having only gotten enough control over his shock to close his mouth, while his brain was going over a plethora of scenarios about why Death was before him. This certainly was one very _odd_ dream.

The man snorted at Harry's nod, though his grin never faltered.

"While I'm a right bastard when it comes to people cheating Death, I don't go hunting things down just to take their lives for the fun of it. There _does_ have to be a reason for me to take someone's soul to the other side."

"The why…"

"Why did I give your ancestors a chance at those 'gifts?"

At Harry's nod he only snorted again.

"A game really, though I didn't expect your _direct_ ancestor to be catch on quite that fast. Ignotus was a good man for that though, especially with how he passed on his traits to his family. He understood that you must earn your place to live but not constrain yourself to the past, else you fall into the trap of not being able to live. I never expected all of them to fall under the direct control of someone though. I figured that someone would have figured out a way to destroy one of my creations long before someone would unite them."

"Well that explains you then," Harry said, understanding this was more or less a 'god' in front of him, regardless of how 'human' the man looked "But then what about you?"

He had turned to the woman when he had asked the question.

She laughed lightly at the question, and tension Harry had in his body that he hadn't been fully aware of suddenly faded from his body.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? If he is the Death itself then what am I?"

"Life…" Harry gasped.

"Exactly, though I have never had such an issue as he has had with those Hallows," the woman said before walking up to him and extending her left hand, "And while he has never truly been given a name outside of Death in any language, I was given one that I became quite taken with some time ago. You may call me Minerva."

Harry couldn't help but snort and smile at that. The woman, Minerva, had a small smile as well as they shook hands.

"Only I could dream of a 'god' with the same name as one of my old teachers," Harry chuckled once they let go of each other's hands.

"Oh, so you still think this is a dream eh?" Death questioned, drawing Harry's focus again.

His confused expression was the only thing Harry managed from his entire body before the world around the three quite literally blinked out of existence. Replacing the room they had been in was a barren blackness lit with what looked like sparkling light green water flowing in random directions throughout where ever it was they were.

It became apparent very quickly the 'water' wasn't water as a current flowed through the three where they all now stood. Harry took a second to realize that he was in fact standing again instead of sitting like he had been in his memories room.

Where ever it was they now were, Harry most _definitely_ hadn't been to a place like this anywhere in the universe. When he turned back to the two deities, he noticed the images of the cluster of animals was back again, though the other smaller group was now next to the one that held his forms.

That group had a similar clustering as the large one. In the center was a giant sandy colored bear. At the four cardinal points there were another four separate creatures. At the top was what looked like a giant tortoise, to the right was another dragon that was similar in shape to his Jormugand form but was lacking the wings and was more blue than purple. Right below the bear was what looked like a phoenix, but its body structure looked closer to that of an eagle than a swan, although it did retain its long neck. And to the left was a very large white tiger with dark purple stripes that were almost black.

Following those five where the animals clustered around those four cardinal point creatures. Above the tortoise was a raccoon that was browner in color than the usual gray. Below the phoenix were a wolverine and a lioness. To the left of the white tiger was a silver back gorilla, and finally to the right of the dragon was an osprey and rattle snake that had diamond markings along its back.

Harry's inquisitiveness with the images seemed to amuse Death as he started chuckling again.

"You're easily distracted from us trying to prove that this isn't a dream to you."

Harry deadpanned at that. "Considering I have had extremely lucid dreams for a _very_ long time mixed with how my mind works on remembering every little detail I've ever thought, experienced, or dreamt; I find it hard to believe something like this _isn't_ a dream. Plus, I've had some very strange dreams that have had apparitions in them as well, so suddenly changing the scenery isn't something I consider as proof. The only things working in your favor at the moment are that this place is completely different than anything I've ever seen before, the clusters of animals, and your knowledge about my past."

Death stopped chuckling and returned Harry's deadpan stare with one of his own.

"Wow, and people have said that afterlife is dull," Death muttered, but Harry still heard it.

Those words caused that faint candle like flame in his chest to grow a bit. He hadn't _felt_ his anger increase in quite some time, and he could actually _feel_ the scowl appear on his face.

"Yes, well, if you actually _are_ Death, you only understand every aspect of what causes death and nothing about Life. Ergo, you would have no knowledge of what it's like being alive and **WISHING** for death."

Harry had to take a few deep breaths after his short rant. It made him curious as to why he had snapped at Death like that. The comment had been irritating to be sure, but he hadn't snapped at anyone since he gone into his form of exile on his ship. That had been a very, very, very long time ago. Still, not being in absolute control of his emotions was unnerving no matter how small the slip up.

Death took his brief anger in stride though as his grin returned full blast.

"And thus we get to why we are here," he said, motioning to him and Minerva with his hand, "Both of us have been watching you for quite some time, or rather following what you've done. You were quite the pain in the ass for us to find."

Harry just scowled at that but kept silent. His mind had already worked out that this _thing_ in front of him wasn't normal. Well neither of the two was to be honest, but the woman at least didn't cause things to happen with him that he thought he had control over.

Seeing the scowl though, Minerva reached up and placed a hand on Death's shoulder.

"What Death means is we are here to give you the clue you have been searching for all around the universe," Minerva started with a sad smile, "While you are correct that Death does not understand the aspects of life, I do, especially the loneliness that comes with immortality."

"We," she motioned between her and Death with her free hand as she took a step closer to Harry, "were once one entity. The closest thing I guess you could relate to would be 'god.' But we were the only thing of our kind. Everything was associated with us in some way, but never of the same existence as us. Thus we split into what you see before you now, the aspect of Life and of Death, and we have existed as such for quite some time."

"But you, a human, are the only one who has ever come close to being what we are, and all because of three simple items that earned you the title 'The Master of Death.' It was that lovely and lively blonde, a Luna if I remember correctly, that helped you figure out the Hallows were responsible for your immortality was it not?"

Harry could only nod in silence as he took this information in. Both of these beings knew things that he had never revealed to anyone, and none of the prior apparitions knew the exact names of the people in his past unless he told them.

"And it was she who suggested you use the Hallows to fix the mistakes you found out about so much later in your life?"

Harry nodded again before responding, "But she only had an idea on how to achieve that feat. She figured that I could use the Hallows somehow to send myself back in time. I found out after she died that she thought that I had to die and send my soul back in time, both actions requiring the use of the Hallows."

"And yet you still live. Did you not trust her theory at all?" Death asked, his grin gone and a serious expression on his face.

"I've tried many things to die along my journey through the universe. I've yet to find _anything_ that can actually kill me, including using spells from the Hallows. I tried _that_ method out after I had found Luna's notes on the matter and had cooled off and realized she hadn't mentioned it before because she didn't want to watch me die. Plus I somehow doubt she thought I'd be alive _this_ long and still haven't found an answer," Harry said somewhat testily with his voice was cracking.

The conversation was bringing up painful memories for him, especially considering the topic.

Luna _had_ been the one to start him on this seemingly fruitless quest, but she had been so much more to him at the time she had made the suggestion. It had been about three years since Robert and Rose had died and Harry had slipped into a very deep depression since then. In the following three years, Minerva would soon follow the two Grangers but with words to Harry that had been meant to make him smile. Instead they had only made him sink farther into depression.

"_You've grown into an amazing man Harry. Your grandfather and father would be proud of who you have become. Don't shut out the others though. They need your love just like you gave it to the Robert, Rose, and me."_

By then, everyone that he had brought with him to his isolated area had fallen into a rather monotonous routine, but it was what kept them going. But for Harry, he had moved about those three years in a dazed like state. There had been a lot of attempts to help him recover from Robert and Rose's death as they were the very last closest links he had to Hermione of the living, and by then had become the parents he had never had.

Some of the people had taken some pretty extreme measures to get him out of his funk, but like so many times before, they all had failed.

Then one day, Luna had stormed into Harry's room while he had been sitting on his bed starring out the window. She had then promptly marched up to Harry, grabbed his face with both of her hands and forced him to look at her. His eyes had been glazed and slightly confused at the time as Luna had a very serious expression on her face, and while it had been seen a lot more recently, it was never mixed with mild anger and another emotion Harry didn't recognize right off the bat. Luna then had promptly kissed him full on the lips, shocking him at her actions, before pulling back and taking a slight step away from him. Her next action was to haul off and slug Harry with as much force as she could muster in his cheek, sending him flailing to the ground next to his bed.

"_What will it take, Harry James Potter, for you to realize that there are still others here who love and depend on you just as much as you did Robert and Rose?"_ she had said in a voice that sent shivers down Harry spine before storming out of the room without giving him a chance to respond.

It would be another month after that that Harry would finally come out of his depression enough to start talking with the others. But Luna's actions had had a farther reaching impact on him, especially as he started to talk with the others more.

He came to realize over the years that there were others who loved him in varying degrees, and specifically some more than others. Thus began a very odd relationship between him and several of the women. He never figured out exactly what they had all had, but he had come to love those women in time. It never did feel completely right as he still had a piece of his heart that was reserved for his love of Hermione. But that odd relationship had all started with Luna.

He felt his heart clench a bit thinking about the instigator for all that love that had developed. She had been the second most brilliant person he had ever known, and had been the second to last person to die, but the last of his loves to pass on. Neville had been the last person he knew to pass on, and thinking about it now, Neville had had his own small odd relationship with women.

Harry had to shake his head to get the memories out of his main thought process. The emotions they were stirring were too hard to deal with, and for him it was odd as they seemed to be stronger than they usually were when he thought of them.

What the hell was causing that?

"Well I can gladly say she was right in her theory about using the Hallows to travel and send your soul back in time," Death said with _far_ too much joy in his voice, his grin back yet again. This just made Harry scowl at the man again.

"A fat lot of good that does me when I can't even separate my soul from my body. And don't even think about suggesting I go out and find some sentient being to murder in cold bold and do that disgusting bastardized ritual," Harry growled out the last bit as Death had open his mouth with a mild smirk.

"I don't think Death is quite _that _callous," Minerva had said fixing the grinning man with an unnerving stare, "But we aren't here to suggest ways to separate your soul from your body. We are here to offer to do that for you."

Harry wasn't quite sure how he kept standing after hearing that as he stared at the woman in shock. It had been the most painful thing of his existence not being able to die. And he had tried some pretty extreme methods short of destroying his body, like jumping into a volcano or decapitating himself.

Jumping in front of bullets? Nope, they left some pretty nasty looking scars and burnt like hell, but his skin and organs would always heal eventually. Taking a direct shot from a Killing Curse that is _supposed_ to rip your soul from your body? Absolutely not, though he was laid up for several months after doing that recovering from whatever else the curse had caused him. Having any form of poison, neurotoxin, chemical, or gas that was lethal enter into his system? All those caused was for him to be violently ill for a very long time until his body adjusted whatever it was in his system.

That was why he had a suit for planets that bad atmosphere for him. They wouldn't kill him outright, just make him sick, and being sick and wishing for death only to recover from it sometime later was annoying after the hundredth time.

But here were two entities that were offering him his greatest wish, and the answer to only question he hadn't been able to answer; How do I die?

"I'll do it!"

Minerva and Death blinked at Harry's sudden agreement. They looked at each other briefly before looking back at Harry.

"That was… quick. Even your ancestor took more time to come up with his answer. How are you sure this isn't some strange trick like you were just a little while ago?" Death asked, genuinely curious.

"Logic," Harry said, a small smile coming to his face with that word as it reminded him of Hermione, "If this was a test of some sort, your words would have already reflected your actions. As it is, this isn't something you as Death are handling on your own as this involves life as well. Not to mention that even if this was a game for me to simply die, I would still welcome it, thereby making a game to take my life rather moot. Finally, if you actually can separate my soul from my body, as that is the only thing you have mentioned as being offered, I would have to be the one to control my soul to return to the past, something you already mentioned and confirmed earlier. If you can't, whenever I wake up, I will just have just another reason to wonder if I've finally gone completely insane and pick apart this entire 'dream' piece by piece and find where the inconsistencies were."

The sight of Death with his jaw hanging open was entirely too amusing. It caused Harry to chuckle lightly at first, which was quickly joined by Minerva _giggling_ of all things. This only amused Harry more as his chuckle broke out into full blown laughter, not entirely sure why or how he was suddenly laughing. It was rejuvenating regardless. Death even became amused as he had joined the laughter not long after.

Once the three had calmed down enough, Harry couldn't get the smile off of his face. He believed the two now, or rather was extremely hopeful that they could do what they said. It meant that he would be back with his loves again soon, even if they weren't the same as before, just seeing their faces again and interacting with them would do wonders to his battered spirit.

A stray thought did bring him up short though, something he hadn't thought about at first.

"What exactly do you two want for this?" he asked, and noted their surprised but curious faces, "Everything comes with a price. It was one of the things I learned when researching what could affect magic. 'You cannot gain something without first giving something in return.' The law of equivalent exchange that applies to _everything, _and I'm going to include you two in that statement."

The two looked at each other briefly before death took a step back and did another over exaggerated bow to Minerva who gained a bright smile.

"That, Harry, is simple," she started as she turned to face Harry again and raised her hand holding the odd staff weapon for the first time, "Live."

With that one word, she slammed the swung the wing like blades down at Harry's head, not giving him a chance to even move his hands up to try and block. With the swing of the staff, the entirety of the light green energy had swirled around Harry instantly and glowed brightly just as the blade barely touched his head and his body vanished.

When the intensity of the glowing coming from the green energy had diminished, Minerva smiled as she pulled her staff back to where it had been before.

"I wonder how well he'll do this time with the gift we have given him?" Death's voice questioned as he stared at the spot Harry had once been.

Minerva looked at him briefly, her smile still on her face. "Don't you mean 'gifts?'"

Death chuckled at that question before turning to his counterpart.

"Indeed, far be it from me to not give a separate gift to the one who became the 'Master of Death' but one of the 'Knights of the Goddess' as well?"

Minerva smile only grew at that question before both Death's and her bodies turned into the very same energy that was flowing around and through them.

**Location- Unknown**

Harry blinked as his surroundings had shifted once again. He looked around briefly and felt that candle in his chest ignite into the inferno once again. He was in the middle between life and death once again, and it was _exactly_ like it had been last time.

Okay not exact, this time he was already in clothes, his old Hogwarts uniform to be precise. Plus there was no black, shivering, pathetic piece of a dark wizard's soul on the ground next to him.

Aside from that, it was the same King's Cross station he had seen so long ago.

"I see you have found another power of the Hallows, eh Harry?"

Oh how he had come to hate that voice. It was the voice of the very person who had caused him so many problems growing up; the voice of the very person who had set into motion the eventual extinction of the magical world. It had been the owner of this voice that forced the lives of his friends and loves to become what they had.

The anger, the hate, the pure fury running through his body couldn't compare with anything he had ever felt previously as he turned around to see the twinkling eyes, old aged, long bearded face of Albus Dumbledoor.

"_**YOU**_," Harry absolutely growled, his eyes already smoking from that sickly green glow, "You are the reason so many people died. You are the reason so many fucking people suffered unnecessary deaths and torture. You are the reason so many lives were ruined. _**YOU ARE THE REASON HERMIONE WAS MURDERED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!**_"

Dumbledoor could only stare in horror as the smoking from Harry's eyes grew to envelop him. It flared and danced around him like an eldritch fire as magic gathered with it. It was even effecting Limbo as the world itself was warping around Harry as he all but stomped towards the old man.

Dumbledoor never even saw the left hook to his face once Harry was within striking distance. He sure as hell felt the after effects though as he felt his jaw bones dislocate and several teeth shatter.

Yet, he did manage to see a black and purple ball of magic gather in Harry's hand shortly before it was rammed into his gut. If his jaw was able to function, his mouth would be as wide open as his eyes, screaming in agony. As it was though, the only sound he made was some strange gargling sound while he was felt as if every organ, every muscle, hell every nerve, was being melted slowly.

Harry watched this all with a dark grin on his face as the old man crumpled to the ground, still making that strange gurgling scream.

"Harry," a singsong voice called from behind him, making him loose control on his magic, the ball evaporating instantly but not Dumbledoors gurgling as he twitched on the ground.

Harry whirled around quickly and saw a sight that forced all the magic gathered around him to bleed off just as fast as it had gathered. He would laugh later as it had generated a wind that forced Dumbledoor to skid along the ground behind him, making the gurgling screams to increase briefly as his body tumbled.

It was all the people he loved more than anyone else. He chuckled slightly when he realized they were standing together with those from the same 'house' from their Hogwarts years.

Standing at the left were the former Slytherins Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, along with a much younger looking Narcissa Malfoy. The two younger girls both had smirks on their faces and Narcissa had a small smile on her face as well. She had been one of the more interesting people he had come to love considering she was older than he was, especially as she was old enough to be his mother.

Her words when he had brought that part up had been, "You're every bit the man I had wished to become a part of my life from so long ago and have given me the one thing I wanted in return for all that I had done, love."

Next to them were his Ravenclaws in the form of Padma Patil, Cho Chang, and his lovely blond Luna. Padma and Cho had shy smiles on their faces just like Narcissa, but they were just as bright. Luna had a veritable Cheshire grin though as her eyes were positively sparkling in happiness.

At the far right where the Hufflepuffs of the group. The first was the wide grinning form of the auburn haired Susan Bones. The other was a woman he had developed a crush on back in his fifth year at Hogwarts, but had squashed it later as he had been distracted by the dreams Voldemort had been sending him. It had been what most boys had when seeing an attractive older woman, especially one as carefree and fun as this woman was, but it wasn't until years after the Witch Hunt that he had learned one of the cruelest things about Dumbledoors machinations, or at least in this case it had been Molly's. It had been _another_ bloody love potion that had been slipped to someone but its recipient wasn't who the loathsome woman had intended, which was her oldest child Bill.

Remus had been the one to drink the potion laced beverage that had made him eventually fall in love with Nymphadora Tonks. It seemed harmless at first since it didn't take full effect because of his lycanthropy, but the potion never left his system, and only grew stronger with each transformation. Apparently with his growing interest in her, and with Molly panicking slightly at being discovered as the one who had been using love potions, and thus ruining the plan of using potions to keep Hermione and Harry under control, had managed to slip one to Tonks. Harry never begrudged the two as Teddy had grown up practically as his son, and had called him 'dad' even after being told Harry wasn't his real father. It didn't stop Harry from wondering what would have happened if he actually _was_ Teddy's biological father, and he _had_ had a long conversation with her ghost via the Hallows once he had found out about what had happened (and learned he could call the Hallows to him no matter where they were since he had become their 'master.')

Tonks' smile was light and small, though slightly sad as well.

Then, finally, in between the Hufflepuffs were two Gryffindors. The first, who was standing next to the 'puffs, was his former teammate Katie Bell. She had the same cheeky grin he came to know that described her playful nature. It was also the same grin she had developed from being friends with the twins for years.

The last person though, standing between Luna and Katie, was the owner of the voice that had forced him to turn around. It was his curly brown haired angel Hermione. Just seeing her bright smile and shining chocolate eyes filled a hole in his heart that had been there for a very long time.

She opened her mouth as if to say something but all that came out was a sudden shriek mixed with a grunt as Harry had moved and engulfed her in a hug while picking her up and spinning her around like he had at the lake.

After a couple rotations he finally let her down, her giggling music to his ears. He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, shifting briefly to look at the rest of the women there, before pulling her back into another hug as tears started to stream down his face.

Valiantly he tried to keep the sob in his throat as it built, as well as his body from shaking, but the emotions running through his system right then where destroying any semblance of control he had. At the first sob escaped his lips he felt Hermione wrap her arms around his neck quickly followed by other pairs of arms wrapping around him and pressing up against him.

"I'm so, so sorry," he kept mumbling over and over as he tightened his grip on Hermione.

"Shhhh Harry, it's alright," Hermione cooed softly in his ear while gently stroking his hair.

The giant group hug/comfort lasted for quite a while before Harry could get his emotions back under some control. He still had tears in his eyes when he had finally pulled back from a smiling though now teary eyed Hermione. Looking around at the others that now surrounded him, he couldn't help but smile again. It took a couple of minutes after that to hug each and every one the women there just as enthusiastically.

"You all have no idea how great it is to see you again," Harry said finally when the hugging was over, for now.

"It _has_ been a little while since we last saw you," Tracey said with a playful tone and smile on her face. That smile dropped though as Harry's mood darkened slightly. It caused her to think for a second before asking, "Exactly how long has it been though?"

Harry blinked when he turned to her.

"I know time flows differently here than elsewhere, but wasn't there a way to tell how long has passed in the living world?"

"Time is a relative thing here Harry," Hermione answered brining his attention back to her, but with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"She means that there is no way to tell how much time is passing in the living world unless you have something to base it off of," Tonks' voice drawing his attention this time, eyebrow still raised waiting for more elaboration.

"An example of which would be while I watched you raise Teddy," here Tonks' voice hitched slightly, "I could only guess how many years passed until he attended Hogwarts. That was when I knew he was eleven, and then the following years up until…"

She didn't need to finish, Harry knew _quite_ well what she was referring to.

"After… that day… It was back to guessing how much time had passed. With your body never aging out of your prime, once Luna joined us here we couldn't tell how much time passed anymore."

Harry flinched at that. They had no idea how long he had been waiting to see them all again.

"Harry," the soft voice of Susan drew his attention now, "How long has it been?"

He looked down at his feet and mumbled the answer, not really wanting to say the number, but not wanting to upset the ladies by not telling them either.

"How long?" Hermione's soft but commanding voice forcing him to life his head and look into her eyes, tears threatening to come back to his own eyes.

"Close to eighteen thousand years since Luna died," he said softly, but loud enough for them all to hear it.

The horrified looks on all the women's faces along with their gasps made him feel terrible. Granted they probably felt worse right now as they had had each other while here. He had been alone for nearly 18 millenniums.

"At least I didn't spend all those years moping," he said slightly in jest as he looked at Luna who had been oddly silent.

_That_ drew a noise from her though as she snorted in mirth, even as a small smile came back.

"I'd ask who had to punch and kiss you to get you out of the funk, but only Neville was around then. I'll give him the punch to the face, but I know you don't swing that way so I'm pretty sure he didn't kiss you," Luna said, her voice still the same quite and spacey one he had come to understand and love.

This drew chuckles from everyone as they watched the petite blond move to stand next to Hermione in front of Harry. She turned briefly to Hermione, that smile still on her face, and said, "Forgive me for this."

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion, especially as Hermione grew her own smile (considering she saw the wink from the eye hidden from Harry's sight) before Luna turned back to Harry and promptly decked him again.

"What bloody took you so damn long to figure out how to use the Hallows to get here?" she all but demanded. Her voice was still light and spacey, but had an edge to it this time, regardless of the happiness that was showing.

His head had snapped with the motion this time instead of his entire body falling to the floor. He kept his head turned from where it had stopped and rubbed his jaw slowly before turning back to face the irate blonde with a chuckle.

"I most definitely deserved that one," he said with mirth in voice.

He then spent a while explaining how he had tried many means and times to separate his soul from his body, but couldn't find a way as he wandered through the universe. Some of the methods he mentioned he glossed over as the after effects made even him ill, and would likely make the girls ill as well.

That or he'd get decked again for trying some of them as they weren't exactly smart to begin with.

After that long tale though, Harry's expression saddened as a thought came into his head.

"Being here with you all again makes me not want to go back in time. I don't want to leave you all again."

That killed whatever good mood the girls had instantly as they all became misty eyed and had sad expressions, especially as they all kept thinking about how long he had spent alone.

"Harry, there are some things you should know if you do decide to go back," Daphne started, "We learned about what would happen to reality should you go back using the Hallows. It would literally unravel reality to the point you returned, negating any chance of a paradox happening."

Harry cocked his head to the side in confusing while asking, "How did you learn that would happen?"

It was Narcissa that spoke up next with a slight smirk, "On the other side of this place is a library."

Harry chuckled at that as he eyed the Ravenclaws and Hermione out of the ladies. All four of them were blushing horribly, none more so than Hermione as she had always been notorious for her research modes.

"I wish I was able to bring all of you with me with all you've learned," he said sadly.

"There might be a way for that to happen. Well sort of…" It was Padma speaking this time, her blush still adorning her cheeks. At Harry's raised eyebrow she had to explain further.

"We can give you our memories, sort of like how you use a pensive. But you would have to sort and lock each of our memories apart from each other and give them back to our past selves. This way our past selves will have all the memories we want them to have."

It went without saying that some of them wanted to forget particular events of their past as a few of them shivered, especially Hermione. She most certainly didn't want to remember _ever_ having sex with the red haired sleaze ball.

"But it still won't be all of you. I don't want to lose any of you," Harry said sadly with a frown. He liked their plan in part, especially about not being the only one with knowledge of the future. He'd be less inclined to let something slip that he shouldn't not to mention he wouldn't feel so out of place.

"You won't ever lose us," came the in stereo reply from all the women, forcing a smile onto his face as Hermione cupped his cheek.

"We will always be with you Harry, no matter where you are. All of us," she said motioning to all the girls, "All of us love you and have worked out how to make things better, especially with our individual lives."

Harry could only sigh at her words. He still had a smile on his face and he felt his chest swell with affection, but it was still saddening to know the people he loved wouldn't be how they were this instant. After a few moments he nodded to the ladies before asking how to take back their memories. He had an idea already on how to withdraw and 'deliver' them once he was back in the past, but was stumped on how to bring their knowledge back with him.

The answer was so simple he had slapped his hand into his forehead for not thinking about it, drawing some chuckles from the girls. He simply had to let them use leglimency on him and direct them to some place in his mind where they could store all the memories they wanted.

He had smirked when they mentioned that, which drew some confusion from the girls until each and every one of them had entered his mindscape. He had gotten some light ribbing at first for it being Hogwarts, but after he had lead them into the Chamber of Secrets and to his true mindscape, he chuckled at each of their reactions as they entered the first time.

Hermione had been first and had panicked when she suddenly found herself in space, but once he calmed her down by hugging her tightly to him and whispering into her ear what she was experiencing and why, she finally calmed down. It took a little while to get where he was going to store their memories as she had practically demanded he include the knowledge of how to make a mindscape like this with her memories as it surpassed anything she had ever read about.

Chuckling he had agreed and lead her to where he kept his Patronus memories. He had had to stop briefly once they had gotten there as the room was back to like it had been before, namely the faces of the women he loved being all around the room, but the animal clusters were there as well. Well the large animal cluster was there.

He had starred at the cluster for a little bit before shaking his head and leading Hermione to her image and creating a room behind it where she could store all her memories. Once they were there, and a door had been placed to seal the room, the image of Hermione was then fused with the door as a further seal and to mark the area. She had practically pounced on him with a passionate kiss once her memories had been stored and they had returned to the waking world so to speak.

The other ladies had similar reactions to hers as they were being lead through the process and upon exiting. Oddly, none of them ever gave the others any 'warning' about the sudden change that he had between his two mindscapes.

Cho had been the last one to give Harry her memories when interrupted what was going on.

"Harry you should take my memories back with you as well! I know I made mistakes but I could help you be…" Whatever it was that Dumbledoor had wanted to finish saying he was caught off quite quickly, but not by Harry.

It was Cho. She had stopped kissing Harry and moved to the old man so fast even Harry had to blink at the sudden loss of both her arms around him, and her lips from his.

The sound of flesh hit flesh, the sound of a body crumpling to the ground, and the sound of someone choking on air brought him back to reality as he turned around to see her standing over Dumbledoor trembling.

Among all the girls, she had the second worst story of how Albus Dumbledoor had ruined her life. She had been the last person Harry had found and had been in a position so similar to Hermione it was frightening. The fact that Harry had saved her from her own potion induced hell and that Hermione had been quite literally murdered before Harry's eyes kept her story in that spot. Not much could beat being controlled by potions, more or less raped by someone you considered to be a best friend, and then being murdered by you 'sister-in-law.'

Padma and Narcissa were actually just as close as Cho was in that their lives had been fabricated by the result of potions and the meddling of this old man.

But at that very moment, Cho was taking her frustrations out on Dumbledoor, or at least restraining herself from doing what she _really_ wanted to do.

She kicked him hard in the side several times, sharp cracks being heard by the others with every kick. Dumbledoor was gasping for air and coughing up blood by the time she was done, and Harry briefly wondered how the man had healed himself enough to walk and talk after the punishment he had put the old man through.

"This is what you get for having destroyed all our lives you foul, loathsome, evil man!" Cho's screech brought his thoughts to a screeching halt as he saw Cho stomp on the old man's tackle with her heel and twist and turn said heel into the ground. Dumbledoor's gurgle shriek and the action itself made Harry flinch and cross his legs slightly. It didn't matter if the old man deserved what he got, it was a male reaction to seeing any other persons tackled brutalized.

With her anger abated, Cho turned around Harry with a smile on her face, obviously pleased her work before walking back to Harry with a purpose and kissing him passionately once again.

He had a slightly goofy grin on his face when the kiss broke, as he did enjoy kissing his ladies. That was until what he was really here in Limbo for came back to him, making him frown and sigh again.

"I guess this is it then," he said, not really sure if that even fit what he was thinking. He still didn't want to leave.

"You'll be with us again soon," Katie said as she punched him in the arm lightly with a smile on her face. Her eyes were still misty though, as were all the girls. "Get going Harry. The longer you're here, the harder it will be for you and us."

He had to take a deep breath with that to keep the tears from falling.

After letting out his shaky breath, he took one more look at all the misty eyed and smiling girls, lingering on Hermione at the end. He would never get enough of seeing her with so much passion in her eyes as she stared right back at him, still managing to comfort him with silent words that were never spoken.

He closed his eyes then reaching out and feeling with his magic the very nature of time, drawing it to him and around him.

"I swear I will find a way to bring all of you back, not just your memories," he said with as much passion and conviction as he could muster.

He then let out the rest of his deep breath slowly as he let his spirit be carried to the exact moment he willed it to, never noticing the women around him being enveloped in the same green energy that had surrounded him when Minerva had sent him here to limbo.

When he let the last reaches of his deep breath out from his lungs, he opened his eyes as he returned his breathing to normal. The world around had faded away from Kings Cross station into the same all encompassing blackness that he had experienced with Death and Minerva.

But instead of that bright green energy flowing around the space, what looked like bubbles of different events he had experienced through his time alive were floating around him. Each of those bubbles seemed to be coalescing at a point in front of him, starting with his most recent of meeting the girls.

Faster and faster the bubbles gathered in front of him, the images in them blurring together and as each memory joined the others, flashes of lightning danced around the room. It seemed to take an eternity to him but soon the bubble was monstrous. If he had to compare it to something, it was roughly the size of the Earth before it had blown.

Then with a final flash of lightning that struck the bubble, the world around him spun violently into a gray nothingness before settling into familiar surroundings.

He was back in his Transfiguration classroom at Hogwarts, alone. Well mostly alone. Minerva McGonagall was there, breathing heavily, as was a woman Harry had honestly forgotten about. Said woman was wearing a horrendous looking pink cardigan and was currently storming out of the room. Just one look at the toad like woman made Harry remember why he had forcibly forgotten Delorus Jane Umbridge.

When the doors to the classroom slammed closed after the toad woman had left, Harry couldn't help but chuckle before muttering, "God I can't believe I forgot how much I hate that woman."

A stern clearing of a throat brought Harry's attention from the closed door to face his formidable Head of House for Gryffindor. It was upon seeing a living, breathing Minerva before him that the reality of the situation settled into his brain.

He couldn't help what happened next because he was too damn happy to care. It had started as a chuckle, which turned into a full blown out laugh. Only when his stomach started to hurt and he was having trouble breathing with tears in his eyes did he finally get his elation under control.

He was actually back! After so bloody long, he was finally back!

"What pray tell is suddenly so amusing Mr. Potter?" Minerva's stern voice brought him out of his brief day dreaming to the present. He noted that her stern expression was ruined by her tiny smile that would be unnoticeable to anyone who didn't know the woman.

He wanted so badly to tell the woman before him everything like he used to, but knew that he couldn't just yet. There were some things he had to take care of, and right now was probably the best, if only time to do it.

"Sorry Professor," Harry said with a slightly cheeky grin. It was weird calling her that after being forced to call her Minerva, or rather Minnie as she had demanded later, "Just got a lot on my mind recently. But I can't thank you enough for standing up for me to that toad of a woman."

Minerva's lips twitched slightly higher at his barb.

"I do have to say, even with how much you wish to put forth for me though, it's not the actual job choice I was looking forward to taking."

This was the first change he was going to make. He was going to bloody change his school records if it killed him, and no way in hell was he taking another Divination class. He'd probably kill Trewlany by accident for having spat out that damn prophecy.

His declaration of a job change caught Minerva off guard though, especially with how easy it came from him. He didn't seem like he really knew what he wanted to do not five minutes ago for crying out loud!

"And exactly which field did you plan on pursing?" she asked, her curiosity rising by the second. He was one of her favorite students after all, even with all the trouble he managed to attract to him and his friends.

"A contract Warder and Curse Breaker along with maybe being a Hit Wizard by contract only," Harry said with a grin, which only got bigger as Minerva's eyes almost popped out of her head in shock.

She got her shock under control quickly though before responding, "You do understand Mr. Potter that two of those fields require classes that you currently are not taking, and all three require you to be better with magic than you currently have shown in your work."

"Very true," Harry agreed, his grin never leaving his face. It unnerved Minerva slightly as it was the _exact_ same grin James and Sirius had were being devious about something, "But you don't spend the past five years with the brightest witch of her age, arguably to have ever walked the halls of this school and not learn some things. Point in case, especially when people seem to be after you for one reason or another, you always want to let them think you are 'under skilled' so to speak."

While he had been talking he had never looked away from Minerva's eyes while he removed his wand and waved it at a desk to his right, turning it into an intricate large black bear. His grin only got wider as the older witches eyes grew large again while shifting to stare at the bear as it grumbled slightly before being turned back into a desk by Harry. She shifted her shocked gaze back to the young man standing before her with that same devious grin. He had done that without the proper movement and without speaking the incantation, both taught in his later years.

"What else exactly has Ms. Granger taught you?" she asked with a hitch in her voice. It wasn't every day you had a student who could perform feats of magic like he just had so flawlessly.

"She got me interested in runes and arithmancy back in third year, and I've been studying them on the side away from pretty much everyone as they relate to an idea I picked up a while back," Harry lied through his teeth. It had been Croaker that had gotten him to learn the subjects, more or less by cramming them down his throat. "I was wondering if it was possible to have an assessment test taken with Professors Vector and Babbling to see if I could take those OWLs along with the others, although I would _very much_ like to drop Divination, even if I can't take the other two."

The twitch smile came back at that. Any ribbing done on Divination was always a bonus to Minerva, even if she would never admit it outside of private meetings, which she would probably force whoever she told to swear a secrecy oath to. But Harry's request wasn't _that_ uncommon. There were usually several students that took OWLs for classes that they weren't in, same with NEWTs. It was just that usually those students had talked with their Head of House and with those Professors on a regular basis to make sure they were keeping up with the material and would be sufficiently able to pass their tests.

Harry's request was completely out of the blue for her, and as far as she remembered and knew, he had never shown any interest or knowledge on the subjects before. Then again, he apparently had been hiding a lot since he could do transfiguration as well he had just done.

"I will talk with both professors and see if they have the tests ready. They should, so expect me to get in touch with you within a week to take the tests to see if we should add your names to the tests for those OWLs. Dropping Divination, while late in the year, is easily done. Although, it would be good if you had some proof of your knowledge of runes and arithmancy to show to the professors, even before the test as they will need some convincing."

Harry's grin falter for a second before he took on a contemplative stance, scratching his head slightly as he hummed in thought. This lasted all of ten seconds before he snapped his fingers as his face brightened up.

"I have just the thing! Granted this is something that would be better for you to just tell them after I show you as I don't know or trust them as well as I do you," Harry said with barely restrained glee in his voice.

It was like seeing a five year old being placed before unlimited access to candy. Harry was just positively giddy and in a good mood! His comment about how much he trusted her, especially with how his year had been so far made Minerva both fill with pride and feel slightly guilty for not having done more for him.

She was curious though once he took several steps back and waved his wand at the desks. To her astonishment they all flew to the side of the room, stacking themselves neatly as he moved to the center of the now mostly barren room.

With a 'Point Me North' he found which direction he needed to face and quickly turned to face it. It was close to being right back at Minerva, but was about forty degrees to her left. Still standing where he was, he grinned at the older witch as he used his wand to trace seven runes in the air before turning back to face north.

She really didn't think she should be shocked that Harry could do what he had just done with writing runes in the air with his wand. It was NEWT level material to use your wand to make runes, and here he was making them in midair of all things. It was then she noticed what each rune was, being at least somewhat familiar with the subject. Six of the runes were the same thing, though were in six different colors. They all were Ancient Norse in origin and meant 'to remove and replenish.' The six colors they were in were black, white, green, blue, red, and brown. The seventh rune was gray, of the same origin, and meant 'to focus on this point.'

She knew instantly four of the colors represented the elements, and she could guess what the black and white ones meant, but she had no idea what to make of the last one, especially in association with the other six. But still, she watched in silence as Harry simply waved his wand and the runes moved to different positions around him.

The black one went to directly beneath his feat, the white directly above his head, the blue to his front, the green to his right, the red to his back, and the yellow to his left. The gray one seemed to disappear beneath his robes and onto his chest. It was as that one disappeared did she suddenly realize what Harry was doing, it was a ritual, and one she did not know.

Yet before she could open her mouth to stop Harry looked in her direction with a soft smile and a wink as he placed his wand back in his pocket and raised his hands directly in front of him as if placing them against a wall.

"I, Harry James Potter, hereby claim by right of inheritance, blood, and conquest all rights, privileges, possessions, oaths, and items that are mine by right," his voice echoed in the classroom loud and strong.

He never noticed Minerva's mouth drop open in shock, nor her face erupt in a full on blush.

Magic pulsed around him in time with his heart beat for several seconds before he felt it pulse outwards. He could literally feel it tingle in his body as everything that he could claim as his own that had been left to him in wills, was rightfully his by his blood heritage, and he had earned in his many exploits from the time he had been born to that instant (excluding the repayment of Life Debts) were magically traced all along the globe. This included a great deal of the loyalty oaths that had been given to Voldemort, specifically those by non-marked Death Eaters as they couldn't be bound to his will specifically by the mark and had to take such oaths to prove their loyalty. Granted a good deal of his marked followers took the oath as well, just to appease the psychotic wizard.

Thinking of those oaths made Harry snicker in his head as he thought of exactly how Voldemort had come back to life and how he had died. Both were thanks to him, and thanks to his 'defeat' of the 'dark lord' when he was just a baby, he could claim everything Voldemort owned by right of conquest. This meant he now controlled all the vaults that the dark nut case had had. Bankrupting the Death Eaters was too enticing of an idea, and besides, he planned on putting those galleons to better use.

His attention was brought to his hands though as he felt the weight of signet rings settle on his fingers. The Potter ring he had been expecting as it was on his left pointer. He even expected the two rings on his right pointer that had twisted together slightly, the image of a badger and a griffin circling each other. It was the other two rings that confused him.

On his right middle finger was a ring he had not expected to see at all, and wasn't entirely sure what it meant. It was similar to the one Voldemort had used for his Horcrux, but at the same time different. The band was platinum instead of gold, as well as being thicker than the other one; the stone was also a light green, the same color of the energy he had seen around the two deities. The biggest difference was the symbol on the stone though as it wasn't the same symbol for the Hallows. Instead scythe behind a dove with its wings spread. Its magic felt similar to the Ressurection Stone too, but different as well, though Harry couldn't tell exactly _why_ it felt different.

The final ring was the most confusing though as by everything he knew, he shouldn't be in control of it. It was on his left middle finger, a gold band, just as thick as his Potter signet ring. The image on the coat of arms though was three ravens in a chevron formation under the upper body of a skeleton holding a wand. It was the Black family crest and could only be worn by the rightful Lord Black, just as his Potter ring could only be worn by the rightful Lord Potter. The same could be said of the intertwined gold band of the griffin and badger as they showed Head of House for the names Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, even though the names had stopped being used quite some time ago. The ring only really showed who was in control of those specific votes, and not to mention who truly owned Hogwarts Castle and its surrounding lands. It wasn't like he could shut the school down, or control the staffing. It _did_ allow him to change who had access to the castle though, and 'allowed' him to apparate anywhere under the anti-apparation wards the school had.

He shook his head to get his thoughts back on track for what he wanted to do in the first place, outside of claiming his heritage. He would figure out why he had the Lord Black ring and what the other ring meant later.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he forced his magic to pull at the ambient magic surrounding Hogwarts to fuel the ritual and runes he was working with. The reaction was sluggish at best, which made Harry scowl as the magic moved as if it was molasses.

It was the reason he was using this ritual. He had found out during his time as an unspeakable that his magic had been bound. It wasn't highly known that all magical actually did have a 'core' that their bodies created to handle magic. Each person's core was different and in a different space, but the idea of having one bound had infuriated Croaker to no end when he had learned Harry's had been bound once they figured out where it was. It was blocking off a significant portion of his true natural power, and was arguably why he struggled to get a spell to work the first time when he had been younger. That trait had carried over with him into his early adulthood until they had figured out the problem.

Once unbound though, Harry had been forced to retrain how to control all of his spells as the first Reductor curse he had used while in the field had leveled the building the wizard had been hiding in. Croaker had chewed him out for days at the amount of paperwork that incident had caused, something he wouldn't understand fully until becoming the Head Auror.

Finally after ten minutes he could feel the magic connect with all the runes, especially the one that had been moved to his chest. He mentally prepared for the next part, already knowing it was going to cause him a world of pain.

It didn't take long for the pain to start once all the magic was connected with all the runes. Each one representing the four main elements, and the black and white one where directly connected to the one on his chest and would pulse in order from front, right, back, left, bottom, then top. The rotation would happen as many times as his body had been alive and his core had been bound. He would feel as if he was being dipped in ice water, then caught in razor sharp winds, then as if tossed into a furnace, then buried alive, then as if everything in his body had rotted instantly, before finally a very brief soothing feeling would pass through his body with only enough 'juice' to take off the extreme edge the other five pulses created. The only high point in his thoughts as the rotation went through the cycle fourteen times was that this method made it impossible for his magic to be bound again, but it would also restore a lot of the mistreatment that had been heaped on him while growing up.

This meant he would gain more muscle mass to his bones corresponding to what his current muscle tone was, and his bone structure would strengthen and grow to where it should be in its natural development. It would also fix one of the most annoyances he had, that being his need for glasses. He would still wear them once this was over, but he would change the glass to be just that, non-prescription glass, so it would give the illusion he still needed them.

One the final cycle through, once the white rune pulsed for its last solitary time, every rune pulsed in sync once more before vanishing as smoke into the air. The one that had provided the focus point for the other runes and had been attached to his body made it looked like his entire body was smoking as it puffed out of his robes. His breathing hard and panting as he tried to cut down the pain that was still making his body tingle didn't help matters any.

Several minutes passed before he got his breathing and pain under control. His body had grown several inches during the ritual, just like he had last time, and he could feel his muscles stiffen as he stretched his them to get them a little looser. He was in some serious need of shopping soon to get out of these rags that were Dudley's cast offs.

"So was that sufficient?" Harry asked with a grin as he turned to look back at Minerva.

It was his turn to stare in shock as he looked at the older witch. In all the time he knew her, he had _never_ seen the women blush, and mostly definitely never blush while gapping with a slight mix of horror on her face. But while seeing her with that particular expression was a first for him, the older witch looked as if she had suddenly de-agged from being a witch who had just entered her seventies, to a witch who had just entered her late twenties, maybe early thirties.

Her hair which had been a graying brown was now a rich reddish brown, any wrinkles she had had were now gone, and her figure had suddenly toned up to fit a woman around the age she now looked.

The thing that had made Harry gape though, and what was currently leaving him speechless, was the black ribbon around her neck with a stylish embroidered 'P' that _had not_ been there before. What was worse, Harry knew _exactly_ what a ribbon like that meant.

Minerva McGonagall was a concubine. And not just any concubine, she had been one to the last Lord Potter, as that was the only person Minerva could have been bound to, and the last Lord Potter had been his grandfather. What made this sudden revelation even more shocking was that he had never seen said color on her before, even when he had found out about and claimed his inheritance the last time, and it had been this very same woman who had described to him in _detail_ about the different bonds in the magical world.

But starring at that black color now was making Harry's stomach do flips in his stomach as his mind raced to figure in this new dilemma. Currently he was coming up empty on any thoughts on how to handle the matter.

His mouth supplied him with the exact words to describe the problem though.

"Well, fuck."

**A/N: **Well there's the second chapter. This should take care of the major concepts I pulled from Paladeus' challenge of "The Only Thing." I tried to expand on the elements I used and make them my own, but even after having reread this chapter a couple of times, I realized they were remarkably similar to what he had done, so again kudos to him.

Any who, from here on things will pick up a bit, and I'll hopefully make be able to make the chapters a bit smaller. Either way, hope you enjoyed the chapter and review!


	4. CH3: Returning

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N:** I'm glad this story seems turned out to be fairly good so far in the reviews. A few people pointed out a mistake I made in the first chapter about the wands. I've gone back and fixed that oversight (aka deleted that line from the story,) so thanks to everyone who brought that to my attention.

This chapter is rated M for Sexual Situations and Language.

**Recommended Story: "**Into the Rabbit Hole: Story Ideas- It's Santa! Quick! Get His bag!" by Paladeus. A very humorous one-shot of Paladeus' own challenge, "Champions of Lilith," and quite a read! It's a H/Hr/L story and definitely one to make you laugh.

**CHAPTER THREE: RETURNING**

**Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Harry could feel a headache coming on fast as he continued to stare at his Professor. His eyebrow was twitching with every beat of his heart, and signaling the growing pressure that was throbbing in time with the twitch in his head. It didn't help matters any that as time seemed to creep by between the two, neither one of them were able to come up with any words.

The sound of students laughing outside the door snapped Harry back to reality, or at least kicked the gears in his head to start working in sync again. Turning around to face the door, his forced his right hand out, open palm, at the door as if he was doing a strike at it. Minerva was treated to a truly awe inspiring sight as five different color lights erupted from Harry's hand and raced to the door. They were red, black, green, white, and blue and once they all connected with the door at the same time she saw a barrier shimmer into existence on this side of the door as she heard a distinct squelching sound.

Just past the barrier, the colors that had struck the door formed into images. The black turned into a skull, the red a flame, the blue a water drop, the green a tree, and the white a sun. They had formed a pentagon shape and were rotating around slowly. She was so entranced watching the five shapes spin she missed the shimmering barrier expand from just around the door to encompass the entire room.

Harry noticed though, although he already knew that it would happen. This particular 'privacy' spell was meant for several things. It would first find the total area it was meant to encompass starting with where it was cast. Once the 'room' was found, as the spell would seal any and all possible entrances or exits (which Harry had found out later even meant the smallest of cracks in _anything,_) the privacy portion happened. It would dispel any tracking charms of any type, destroy any means of monitoring what was going on in the room (a funny thing that had been found while testing as George still had the Extendable Ear attached and the thing had caught fire, singing his face and ear slightly,) and arguably the best part (or so Harry thought,) was that if you weren't the caster, you couldn't force your way into someone's head in any way, shape, or form.

Harry had tried that once and still wasn't entirely sure what the hell had happened; he just woke up several hours later during the test with the world's worst migraine that _no_ form of headache relief, muggle or magical, could fix. The pain level and time it lasted was always in proportion to how strong the caster was (something they had found out later,) and seeing as how it had been Neville that had cast it when he tried it the first time, he was in agony for close to two weeks after the first attempt.

But he had used this spell for the fact that unlike the _Muffilato_ spell, which would make those not in it only hear a loud buzzing sound, this blocked absolutely all sound from inside but you could still hear what was going on outside. Thankfully the spell had been developed only amongst his family as it could have caused problems if it had been made and used by Death Eaters.

"So um…" Harry started once he felt the spell had sealed the entirety of the room. This also brought Minerva's attention directly to him.

He couldn't help but flinch slightly at her hard look. It was an expression he knew quite well, though usually it was on a much older face. Seeing it on a much younger looking Minerva was slightly terrifying, and it reminded Harry of the times when Hermione's anger overrode all of her inner reasoning. Well it either overrode or it, or both were in agreement, he never did figure out which but knew to also never ask lest he trigger the response and fall under the retribution it _always_ brought.

That thought didn't make Harry feel any better though as the look was one that there would be hell to pay if he didn't explain things, and soon at that. Idly he wondered if the red that still adorned her face was a blush or from anger. He seriously hoped that at the very least it was a mix of the two, which would hopefully be the least painful. Minerva when she was angry was a bit over the top in her imagination on how to make someone pay, especially as a transfiguration master.

"Um, first let me say that I honestly had no idea this would happen," Harry started. The gaze seemed to harden a bit, making him gulp and loose his immediate train of thought.

How the hell was he supposed to explain that he truly had no idea that he would inherit her? When he had claimed his inheritance, he had thought he knew of everything he would already inherit. Granted, he really _hadn't_ ever seen a will by his parents or his grandparents. Hell he hadn't even seen Sirius' when it had been read. He'd always been told what he had inherited and it wasn't like he had been able to go to the goblins to figure out the exact details. They never truly forgave him for destroying over half of the bank during the Horcrux hunt, but he understood why. His breaking and entering was only the second ever and had almost ruined their image of being the 'perfect bankers.'

An awkward silence fell between the two again making Harry fidget a little as the gaze never relented.

It was a few minutes later that the silence was starting to get to Harry, and he cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. His shoulders slumped a bit as he summoned one of the desk benches, changing it into a plush tall backed chair, and sat down before asking, "Why don't you ask whatever questions you have and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities. I can even take an oath swearing to the truth of my answers if it would make you feel better as, uh, some may be a bit hard to believe."

That brought Minerva up short for a moment. She had been mortified when Harry had suddenly claimed what was his by right. She had no idea that he even _knew_ how to claim his inheritance in the first place! Once she had felt the collar rematerialize around her neck, where it had been absent for over a decade, and saw the rings materialize onto Harry's hands she was certain he knew about her and thought he would look at her immediately with a leer as most teenagers would if they knew exactly _what_ she was.

She had been surprised when he hadn't, and then intrigued as she watched the ritual she had tried to stop take place. A spare thought had wondered why she hadn't tried to stop it again, but she already knew the answer to that question as soon as it popped into her head. The magic of what she was wouldn't let her talk until she was 'given permission' as it were.

Her surprise and embarrassment returned a hundred fold when Harry had turned to look at her with his cheeky grin. She had already noted the changes the ritual had done to his body as they had occurred. His reaction though made her feelings go up yet again as she knew the second the look of shock and understanding and confusion became prominent on his face.

The students laughing had brought even further levels of mortification to her as she knew her appearance had changed as well, and she was in no position to change her appearance just yet, or explain her changes either. Harry's reaction left her further speechless as her brain shut down watching the magic.

She had no idea what it was, but she could _feel_ that it was powerful. It was only brief words that brought back _some_ semblance of her normal composure, and was partially proud she could at least make Harry flinch still. His declaration following more magic that he shouldn't be able to do almost put her back into brain dead mode as what he was doing was arguably impossible, even though she had the proof quite literally sitting in front of her.

Taking a page from Harry's book, she sat back down in her own chair with a bit of a huff as she contemplated her first question. She discarded the notion of him swearing an oath that his statements were the truth as there had to be _some_ logic behind what had happened. Surely Hermione had instilled some of her formidable reasoning upon this young man?

She figured she'd start with an easy question, namely the one that she had before he had claimed his inheritance.

"What exactly did that ritual do to you outside of the obvious physical changes my lord?" she asked, and inwardly sighed at how she addressed him. She noted that Harry flinched at the 'my lord' bit.

"It's designed to remove any and all blocks on a person's magic, or rather their core specifically," Harry started and Minerva suddenly was rethinking her notion of Harry swear on the truth of his statement, "After removing all of those blocks, it's meant to restore the core back to where it should be at whatever age the person is and fix most of, if not all, the problems that developed from the persons magic being bound. The runes, the six colored ones, use the ambient magic of the area around where the ritual is performed and focus upon the seventh rune, which is always placed over, or rather near, what needs to be unbound. The physical changes are part of the 'restore' process as well since they are considered deficiencies that some form of magic could fix."

Harry really wanted to chuckle as Minerva's mouth dropped open at his description. He was pretty sure he knew where her thoughts had travelled upon that last bit as the ritual could arguably used to heal any injury, ever, in the magical world so long as there was a cure. Healers everywhere, especially Poppy Pomphrey, would _kill_ to be able to use that ritual. He was very tempted to leave it at that for _that_ ritual, but figured it would come back to bite him in the ass later.

"Unfortunately, the ritual will only work on the person performing it, meaning it can't be used on others."

Minerva's eyes got slightly wider at that, but her mouth snapped closed with an audible click. Her cheeks also returned to their full blush as Harry had countered exactly where her thoughts had been. His light chuckle after her closing her mouth didn't help matters. The cheeky bugger had paused to let her thoughts wander!

"And the spell you used on the door?" she asked when she felt her embarrassment had dropped a little bit farther.

"Um… I'm not really sure how to answer that one," Harry said, cringing inside. Outside of his loves, he didn't plan on letting anyone know anything past the downfall of Voldemort, and this spell ventured there as he couldn't describe what it did without revealing a lot of the reasons for _why_ it was made.

Minerva didn't like that answer, but she really couldn't force it out of him. No matter how much she wanted to…

"Alright then, how did you know about your inheritance? I was assured by Albus that he had instructed you to take claim it after you were finished with Hogwarts and You-Know-Who defeated once and for all."

Minerva didn't know what had hit her after that statement. It wasn't anything physical or any spell. She just suddenly felt as if her entire being was smothered in some kind of tar that not only made it difficult to move, it felt like she was being squashed slowly beneath an unimaginable weight. In the back of her mind she wondered why she hadn't suddenly become a bloody smear on the stone beneath her because of the pressure.

"**Albus bloody fucking Dumbledoor**," Harry growled from his seat, "**That old bastard has told me **_**nothing**_** of my inheritance. He has denied me my heritage all my life for his vaunted fucking 'Greater Good' as if I am just another piece to some great puzzle that only he can see. That walking hypocrite has destroyed so many lives because of he thinks he knows best. Well he isn't going to fuck with my life, or anyone I love's life anymore.**"

Minerva was positive if she hadn't been sitting before, she would have collapsed as Harry spoke. With every word the pressure seemed to increase. Her vision had started to blur when the pressure started as it was so sudden, but near the end of Harry's rant it had cleared enough to at least get a clear image.

What she saw terrified her more than she was willing to admit. Harry's eyes were glowing with a bright dark sickly green, and surrounding him like a living dancing flame was the same green glow. The aura he gave off screamed death and left her wondering for a moment if she was staring death itself in the face. The thought of facing Voldemort seemed highly pleasing at the moment instead of this _very_ angry young man.

But as the glow around Harry grew, so did the pressure on her body. It quickly became too much and she soon cried out in pain, feeling as if her lungs were about to explode in her chest if the pressure didn't let up.

Her cry seemed to be enough as the glowing around Harry just blinked away and his dark expression quickly turned to concern and remorse. The quick change in pressure had her falling out of her chair gasping for breath. She had been trying to get up during the pressure and call for Harry to stop, so when the pressure had vanished instantly, her muscles were still trying to move, hence her current place on the floor.

"Professor McGonagall, are you alright?" Harry's voice asked, suddenly next to her. He was on one knee, his hand on her back making small circles.

Turning her head to look at him, she found his face not that far from hers, his brilliant emerald eyes showing a deep concern for her. Her breath caught again but not for the same reason as before. She had known his eyes always showed his emotions better than his body or words ever could. It was something she had only really noticed when he was distraught about something and couldn't figure out how to convey what he was feeling.

Well that was before he suddenly became this much more outspoken individual, but his eyes still held that depth to them that she had often tried to decipher over the past five years to try and help him when he needed it in some way. Only Hermione seemed to be able to decipher all of his problems though, and with a general ease that always made Minerva smile at the scene.

But right now, the level of concern he had in his eyes spoke of more depth and familiarity than she knew possible for Harry, at least associated with her anyways. It was a look one associated with a well loved family member. As far as she remembered, she had _never_ seen or heard of Harry with this look pointed at anyone.

Well that wasn't _entirely _true; he had it once before when Hermione had been petrified. Poppy had positively gushed at the apparently adorable scene that played out day after day in her hospital wing with Harry always visiting his friend. It had prompted an ongoing bet amongst most of the staff and a fair bit of the students (courtesy of the Weasley twins once they had somehow caught wind of it,) that the two would end up together eventually.

It was only natural that being under such a, dare she even _think _it, loving gaze would make her short of breath and her heart to start pounding in her chest. She tried not to think of the other physical reactions such a look caused as well, as it was _improper_ for a teacher to be having such thoughts about a student.

She could only nod in answer to his question as she tried to control the emotions that one look had ignited within her. The concern in his eyes softened at the nod, but the change of his facial expression to that sheepish yet slightly cheeky grin was definitely not helping her control her emotions one bit!

Harry held out the hand that wasn't rubbing circles into her back still, which she took after a moment, before standing up fully and helping her back to a standing position. Her legs were slightly shaky from the strain they had been under and made it hard for her to stand initially, but Harry had quickly moved his hand on her back to wrap around her waist and held her to him firmly. Not firm enough to put unwanted pressure anywhere, just enough to keep her standing.

After a few moments, Minerva moved her head back slightly, and Harry was soon looking into a confused yet somewhat pleased looking witch.

He chuckled softly at her expressions as they were ones he was familiar with on his loves, just not on the perpetually stern professor. The irony of the situation seemed to be sinking into him finally when he considered who his other loves were and how his 'normal' was finding himself in strange situations.

The chuckling caused the older witch to frown slightly, prompting a few more chuckles from Harry.

"I'm really sorry. I'm not laughing at you," he replied, guessing at where her thoughts had turned. Her slight flinch was his answer. "It's just this just reinforces how utterly random and unpredictable my life is. Harry Potter and 'normal' don't really fit together in a sentence or when trying to describe my life."

Minerva couldn't help but snort in mild disbelief and amusement. That had been a topic of discussion amongst the staff for quite some time, along with some rather amusing speculations for why it was that way.

The sound of some more students laughing as they ran past the door (followed quickly by Filch's loud grumbling) made the two look at the door again briefly. It seemed to bring the reality of the situation crashing down onto Minerva though as she started to shake slightly in Harry's grasp.

Harry could guess why. No matter which way he looked at it, he would have to bind her to him or do the alternative and that was 'transfer' her 'ownership' to another wizard.

Steeling himself and taking a deep breath, he reached up to her face and gently turned it to look at him.

"Minnie," he started softly, noting her at first her fearful expression which turned to shock at the name. Only two other people had ever called her that before, or rather got away with it. Both were no longer among the living, so how could Harry have known it?

"I know that I have to either bind you to me now, or to transfer you," Harry started, "But I'd rather you made the choice on which you would prefer."

McGonagall had turned fearful when Harry had mentioned the idea of transfer. There were _never_ any good stories about a concubine being transferred. Harry giving her the choice negated those fears instantly.

"I-I'd like to stay with you my lord," she said with a very small voice. Inwardly she chuckled slightly at Harry's flinch at her using the 'my lord.' No matter what seemed to happen to him, Harry always seemed to remain humble to everything and hated being called anything but Harry.

The small smile on his face after her answer made her heart flutter.

"I guess we should get through this part then," Harry said softly before taking a small step back from her and looked directly into her eyes as he pulled out his wand from his pocket. "I promise I'll tell you more about what I'm sure you still want to know after this."

He waited a bit for her to nod in understanding before taking another deep breath.

"I, Harry James Potter, by right of inheritance from Charlus Edmond Potter, claim you, Minerva Grace McGonagall, as my Concubine in mind, body, soul, magic, and heart, to serve me and my house until death releases you."

Harry noted the slight glaze that appeared in the older woman's eyes as an almost non-existent flash of magic signaled the oath taking effect. Inwardly Harry couldn't help but sigh. _"Hermione is going to kill me for this,"_ he thought.

Stepping to be directly in front of her, Harry took the older witch in his arms and gave her a tender kiss, trying to convey whatever feelings of comfort he could to the older woman. This was more awkward and sudden for her than for him, and to be honest, he was slightly immune to this twist because of everything that had already happened to him. You kind of get used to random things like this once you've lived for over a millennium.

He smiled inwardly when he heard a soft moan come from the old witch as the kiss deepened. He felt her hands move up his back to return the embrace while they kissed. The glaze in McGonagall's eyes when he broke the kiss was much more pronounced, but that was included with her eyes half lidded and a very pleased smile on her face.

"Remove your clothes," he commanded. His voice soft but firm enough to fulfill the bond.

McGonagall's smile seemed to grow just a bit as she started to strip in front of Harry. He watched her as she removed each piece, letting them fall to the floor next to her as they were removed. It was rather alluring to see his teacher in such a light, especially once she had gotten down to just her bra and panties. He had never figured McGonagall was one of those witches that liked 'simple but sexy' oriented undergarments when they got older. White, almost see through lace really did look good on her.

Harry had also taken off his clothes during his observation. It was hard really considering Dudley's castoffs were always too damn big for him anyways.

But once they were both standing there naked, Harry was couldn't help admiring his professor. Her skin was surprising smooth. It was a little pale, not unhealthily so, but it contrasted well with her reddish brown hair.

Her breasts were probably somewhere between a B and C cup, but quite perky. Harry couldn't help but think briefly about whether that was due to whatever had caused her to become young again or if she was naturally that perky. McGonagall was also quite aroused by this point as her nipples were just as perky as her breasts, and her breathing was slightly shallow.

Gently he pulled her to him again to give her another kiss. Her arms immediately wrapped around his neck this time as the kiss deepened as his right was wrapped around her waist and his left at the same level as her breasts. Having a brief thought, he wandlessly summoned her desk back to where it was before he had done the earlier ritual which was just behind the otherwise occupied couple. Minerva never noticed when it took its place.

Harry then slowly backed her into the desk so that her ass was pressed gently against the edge. He never broke the kiss while doing this, and once he had backed her against the desk, he gently trailed his right hand across her back from where it was holding her to her hip.

McGonagall moaned in pleasure into his mouth shortly after as his gentle fingers moved from her hip, then to her stomach, and finally south to her sex. He found her clit instantly and rubbed the nub in lazy circles, eliciting more moans from the woman as her hips involuntarily started to move forward and counter to his circles. This lasted for only a minute before a single digit found its way inside her.

She had to break the kiss to gasp in pleasure, which made Harry then trail kisses down her neck to her collarbone. He started to rhythmically push and pull the finger in and out of her as he laid his trail of kisses. McGonagall's breaths were coming in shallower breaths a lot faster at this point, as were her moans of pleasure.

Inserting a second finger into her now quite wet and very aroused sex pushed her over the edge as her body stiffened briefly before it started to convulse with her inner muscles as the first orgasm in quite some time racked her.

Harry had stopped his rhythmic movements when he felt her have her orgasm, and when the convulsing stopped he pulled his fingers out of her slowly. The entire time he never stopped lavishing kisses on her collarbone, though it was more of light sucking and nibbling than kissing at this point.

He waited for several minutes for McGonagall's breathing to not be as shaky before he moved back to her face to give her a quick kiss on the lips then taking a step back.

He was quite aroused at this point. Well, he had been aroused earlier once she had stripped, but the throbbing in his loins was starting to get to him.

"Suck me off," he commanded.

Watching McGonagall slide to the floor and taking him into her mouth didn't help his arousal any, though the sight was quite enchanting regardless.

It was at this point however where he was quite physically reminded of some of the physical experiences he had yet to encounter in his younger body. Regardless of how mentally prepared he was and the fact that he had experienced sexual acts before, this body had never been under those types of ministrations before.

The sensation of her wet lips and hot tongue wrapped around his cock nearly made him cum the second she had taken him into her mouth. He wasn't entirely sure how he managed to not blow his load right then and there. McGonagall's stimulations didn't help matters further though and within a couple minutes he was groaning his release into her mouth. He was in a slight daze shortly after as his loins throbbed with the release, but was aware enough to realize McGonagall still sucking on his member, even as it started to soften.

Only when he had gone completely flaccid did she finally stop her bobbing and remove him from her mouth. Harry couldn't quite keep the goofy grin off his face as he gazed down at the older woman, but he really didn't care right at that point. Besides, he was in a body that was flooding with hormones so there was likely going to be a lot of things he couldn't control as well as before.

Gingerly he reached down and cupped Minnie's chin and lifted it to look up at him and summarily raising to her feet. She was breathing heavily from her brief fellatio experience. Her face was tinged from exertion, not to mention her previous orgasm and current arousal. Still with the grin on his face though, Harry kissed her again.

He wrapped his left hand around her mid back while his right went down to grab her ass. The moan in appreciation as he squeezed the flesh made him smile as he broke the kiss from her lips and started to suckle on her collarbone again. It was then he lifted her up so half her ass was on the edge of the desk, her legs spread with him standing in between them.

Another point to being a teenager again with raging hormones was his quick recovery time. It wasn't long before he was aroused again, though not with the aching throb he had before. He moved his left hand then to rest on the desk as McGonagall wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his hips. It was clear she knew what was going to happen next, regardless of her glazed eyes.

He slid his cock up and down her slit a few times, lubricating it a bit before lining up and resting his hands on the desk to steady himself. Slowly he slid himself into the older woman, enthralled by the soft and hot velvet feel of her sex around him as he entered.

He had to control himself from going faster, as that's what his hormones wanted him to do, and took pleasure in the fact that Minerva moaned loudly as he bottomed out in her. Her sex was twitching from a mini orgasm already just from the single penetration. Harry was very thankful that his spell kept all sound from inside being heard outside as the moans she let out as he started to pull out and thrust back only got louder with each thrust.

It didn't take long after several long slow strokes for McGonagall's hips to start bucking, urging Harry faster. He was quite happy to comply and what moans she could get out in between her gasping for breath from the sensations his hard and fast thrusts were causing. Her grip on Harry tightened several minutes later as an orgasm racked her body, but Harry still hadn't released yet, nor had he slowed his thrusts. Her drawn out moan had heralded her release.

But with Harry still going at it, and with her bits now even more sensitive from an orgasm, she felt a second release building quickly. It took longer to reach the second one by several more minutes than her first, but Harry reached his release almost at the same time. It was her almost scream like moan and rapidly convulsing walls, along with her legs tightening around his hips, that brought Harry over the edge several seconds later, spilling his seed inside her.

When the pulsing from their mutual orgasms finally stopped several seconds later, Minerva collapsed backwards still gasping for breath and pulling Harry's upper body down with her. This brought Harry into a slightly uncomfortable bending position but also brought his face to be nestled between her breasts as Minerva clutched his head there tightly.

It was because of having his face hidden in the breasts that Harry missed the faint light green glow that surrounded Minerva in a flash before blinking out just as quickly.

They stayed that way for several minutes though, getting their breath back under control and letting their bodies cool down. It was also that long before Minerva let up on holding Harry's head to her chest.

When he could finally free himself from her breasts, he stood slowly, as well as removing him cock from her as well. That got a moan of pleasure and disappointment from the older witch. The tone made Harry chuckle softly as he reached out and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her into a sitting position.

Harry had to blink when he saw McGonagall's expression though. The glaze was already gone from her eyes, something he already knew would happen, and had been replaced by a fiery clarity that she hadn't had, even before the bonding. Yet her face had a very satisfied and slightly smug look to it. In all of his memories, he couldn't bring up any of this older witch that came with the expression smug.

"I think I understand now why the girls were so taken with you Harry," Minnie stated, the smugness from her expression bleeding into the tone of her voice.

Harry's goofy grin turned serious and confused in an instant which Minnie seemed to find hilarious as she started to giggle. That only served to make Harry more confused. He hadn't expected her to suddenly become this bubbly. Again, Minnie couldn't help but giggle at his expression.

She managed to stop those giggles a few moments later before she gently caressed his cheek and kissed him briefly.

"You said it earlier Harry, you and normal don't seem to work well together. I'm not sure how it happened, but you brought me back," Minnie started before taking a brief look around the room, "And you bound me in my own classroom. This should make an interesting story for your girls when you bring them back."

Harry's jaw hung freely as he gaped at the woman before him. This wasn't the same Minerva McGonagall that he had met upon arriving back in time. Somehow he had brought back the Minerva McGonagall from the future. But he had no idea how she could be here now. She wasn't part of the group he had seen at King's Cross, and he sure as hell didn't have all of her memories from the future stored within his own mindscape. Actually, thinking back on it, he was surprised he hadn't seen several other people at King's Cross. He would have loved to talk to those he considered family before coming back.

Thinking of family though brought his thoughts to a halt as he remembered the question he had earlier. He'd figure out how he had apparently done the impossible, _again_, later.

"Minnie, how come you never told me before that you were a concubine to my grandfather? I mean, even after claiming my inheritance and when you explained to me about the bonds between wizards and witches, you never said anything about being a concubine to begin with. It does explain how you know so much about my grandparents, but still…"

Her expression turned sorrowful the instant he asked that question.

"You can thank that pig Slughorn for that problem."

Harry's anger was palpable at the name of _that_ man. He was number three on Harry's most hated list, and whatever this new information was would probably push him to number two, right ahead of Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore was in a league of his own holding first place.

Seeing Harry's angry but still confused expression made Minnie continue, "It was a couple months after the Battle of Hogwarts. Apparently the walrus had a small moment of chivalry before Voldemort blew us away with that power wave. I was already tired by then and the blast would have arguably killed me had Slughorn not moved to stand in front of me as a shield and dispersed most of the power from hitting me. That one act seemed to be enough for him to 'claim' me as it were since it was a valid life debt and you hadn't fully claimed your inheritance yet. I fell into a rare loophole with the bonds then apparently as he was able to bind me forcibly since I'd already been bound once before. I wasn't aware of it then, but that _man_ had apparently been lusting after me for some time, which made that particular binding that much more terrible. His only decent order was for me to stay as Headmistress, which is what probably spared my life. After the… well when you rescued me, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you what I was and that your grandfather had left me to you. I wanted to so badly, but it didn't seem right, not after everything that had happened. I was pleased to see you recover some after I passed on when Ms. Lovegood managed to beat some sense into you."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at that memory and at the happy smile on Minnie's face, even if there were some tears in her eyes from her story.

"Yea, she sure does have a way with getting me out of whatever funk I'm in," Harry said wistfully at the memory, "I just wish I had managed to find out how to actually use the Hallows like we had guessed before everyone else passed on. I can actually thank your namesake for that."

At her confused expression, he remembered she hadn't been there at King's Cross with his loves. She already had all of her memories from her first life, and apparently she had watched over him in the afterlife as well, but was missing the things that had happened in limbo. So over the next ten minutes he gave her an abbreviated description of what had happened. There was a brief teasing point though when he mentioned the aspect of life's name being Minerva, which Minnie took in stride but had a smile on her face none the less.

A loud knock on the door brought all conversation to a stop, the two looking at the door.

"Oh shit," Harry said, realizing the state the two of them were in. The panic in his tone was mirrored on Minnie's face and the two, by unspoken agreement started to get dressed quickly. As they did, Harry took a few moments in between pulling up his trousers and putting on his shirt and robe to restore the room to how it had been before he started the ritual. Once fully dressed he cast a few air freshening spells to clear out the scent of sex that was permeating throughout the room.

It was then he took a quick glance at Minnie, seeing her fully dressed and a glamour charm on now to make her look as she had before. Well almost exactly like before as she left the button that held up the collar on her blouse undone. This left a small view of her neck visible where he could clearly see the 'P' on the black ribbon around her neck.

At his raised eyebrow, Minnie just gave him a cheeky grin and wink before returning to her stern expression and nodding at the door. That was his signal to dispel the spell around the room which he quickly did, especially as a second, louder, and more insistent knock happened.

"Enter," Minnie said, her voice as stern as it ever was, though there was unmistakable annoyance as well. Harry figured it was because she wanted to talk more with him, especially as she had had several confused expressions during his brief telling of what had happened after she had died. One of those was when he had said it had taken a long time after Luna had died to finally find a way back.

"Sorry to interrupt Professor McGonagall but I had something import…" the interrupter said as they entered and closed the door quickly. Harry and Minnie didn't recognize the person at first as they had entered fast and turned to close the door while talking, but when they turned around they knew who it was instantly. It was a much broader and taller Neville Longbottom than either Harry or Minnie remembered him being at this age.

The young man had stopped upon seeing Minnies face, as it was usually never a good thing to be under an annoyed McGonagall's gaze.

"Yes Mr. Longbottom?"

The question snapped Neville out of his momentary daze as he lifted his left hand to scratch behind his head while having a sheepish grin on his face.

"Er, like I said, sorry for interrupting, but I had something to discuss with you that I forgot to mention during my own meeting."

His stance was still confident if restrained a little from being scrutinized by McGonagall. It was as his hand dropped that Harry caught sight of something that made Neville's new appearance click with Harry.

The small glint of gold that reflected off his left pointer finger could only be a signet ring, and his hand moved a hell of a lot slower than a snitch did, hence how Harry saw it. Glancing at Minnie, he saw that she had at least seen it as well as the annoyance in her expression had disappeared and a slightly devious look had appeared in her eyes.

"And what pray tell is so important, Lord Longbottom, that you felt the need to interrupt my discussion with Lord Potter?"

Harry couldn't help but grin at how Minnie had addressed Neville. It was more or less a blatant point out to what had changed on him, as well as Harry. The funniest part though was Neville's face gaping in shock as it bounced back and forth between Harry and Minnie. He even did a double take the first time when he saw Harry with his toothy grin and waving at him with his right hand while he displayed the two rings on his left. Neville apparently recognized the second ring as well which only added to his shock.

His gapping lasted about a minute before he started to chuckle briefly.

"Okay, so what I had to say apparently isn't as important as other things are which apparently are already in play. When did you two come back?"

"I came back as the toad was storming out," Harry started, "Uh, Minnie came back a little later."

He wasn't really sure if he should reveal what she was to Neville. It wasn't like he'd think differently about her like most others would. Looking at Minnie, who had a slight blush but a smile, he got a small nod from her letting him know she didn't mind letting Neville know. There had been very few secrets between all the people Harry had saved after all. Then a thought popped into his head.

"But, how did you come back? As far as we all knew, only I would be able to come back using the Hallows."

Neville had a look of mild confusion on his face as he replied, "You know I'm not really sure exactly _how _I came back. I was with my family and loves in well, I guess heaven would be the closest thing to say where I was. Then I was suddenly at Kings Cross with only my loves and a woman who was dressed in the strangest armor I've ever seen."

He paused briefly at Harry's snort, but continued when Harry motioned for him to continue, "She told me that I would be following someone back in time, and as one of her knights, I would need to help him. My loves asked her if they would be going back as well and she told them I could only take their memories back with me. After getting their memories stored in my own mindscape, I found myself back here in Hogwarts. It took me a while to figure out when I was though, and to find an empty classroom to claim my inheritance in. After that I came straight here."

"That woman you saw is apparently a goddess. She represents the aspect of life, and ironically enough, her name is Minerva," Harry said once Neville was done. He ignored the slight glare Minnie sent him for the small barb.

Neville chuckled at the slight by play before asking, "So how did you meet her then? Does it have something to do with the Hallows?"

"Uh, I met her a long time after you died. She and apparently Death himself hunted me down to do what I wasn't able to figure out, and that was to actually cause me to _die_ so that my soul could be separated from my body. I'm still not really sure exactly what the hell it is she did, but I went straight to limbo. I got to meet my loves there, and thrash the old bastard a bit, before coming back here with all of their memories. Well, my loves minus the old goats."

Neville's head cocked to the side as he looked over at Minnie then. "Then how did you come back Professor?"

As far as Neville remembered, McGonagall wasn't one of the people Harry considered his loves as he called them, which made him confused as to how she could be back. Well not fully confused considering that there was apparently god-like beings involved. The blush that erupted on the older witches face only added to the sandy haired young man's confusion though.

"Um, to be frank, I'm not really sure," Harry started, looking at Minnie again to see if she wanted him to continue. The small nod was his signal to do so, "Apparently when I claimed my inheritance, she was part of it. Her memories came back after I, uh, bound her."

It was Neville's turn this time to have his jaw unhinged and hang open in shock. He looked back and forth between the two several times, doing a wonderful fish imitation as he tried to form words. He could figure out quite well what Harry had meant the second he said it, but his brain was having problems processing the fact that one of the Professors he respected the most was apparently a concubine, bound to the previous Lord Potter, and was now bound to Harry. It wasn't like he looked down on her for being a concubine it was just shocking to learn that fact. Finally his mouth snapped shut as his expression deadpanned as he turned his expression to Harry.

"Seriously, this could only happen to you," Neville drawled out in a dull tone. It made both Harry and Minnie blush and laugh since it was close enough to what they had said about Harry's unique brand of karma. Neville joined them shortly after at the sheer irony of it all.

It was a short time later when they managed to restrain their laughing down to wide grins.

"Well, seeing as how we have gotten a bit sidetracked, what was the other reason for your visit Neville?" Minnie asked.

"Uh, I wanted to change my classes around a bit. I wanted to drop Divination entirely instead of just not taking the OWLs, and I wanted to possibly pick up Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."

Minnie chuckled slightly at the request before responding, "You and Harry seem to be of the same mind in that regard. Granted you two are quite capable in those subjects, I'll still have to get a hold of Professor Vector and Professor Babbling to get those assessment tests. With all my memories back now, I can get them ready for you two in the next day or two."

Neville's and Harry's grins only got wider at that. They both had been more than irritated with their performances in school when they learned how messed up their lives were.

"Great! All that's left for me now is to figure out how to get my ladies their memories back and get my real wand again so I don't break my fathers," Neville commented, his mood incredibly bubbly.

"You don't know how to transfer their memories to them?" Harry couldn't help but ask as he blinked at his friend.

"I know how to if they trusted me or knew at least a bit of Legillimancy but both of those ways are kind of shot right now. I was only really friendly with you, Hermione, and Luna and didn't really talk to anyone else unless they started a conversation first, remember? That leaves me with having to find a way to give them back, and I've been drawing a blank since I started thinking about it."

Harry wanted to groan at that. It was something he would have to deal work around as well with several of his loves, especially considering the situation two of them were in currently. He hadn't thought of that fact initially but it was a problem he'd have to figure out how to deal with later. What he did have, though, was a way to transfer the memories they had stored in their heads.

It was something he had picked up a couple centuries after the world had been destroyed and before he forced himself into exile. The planet he had been on at the time had been an odd mix of primitive, technological, and magical civilization. They lived in huts and tents mostly with a few buildings scattered about each village/town, but there were most definitely technology rampant about the planet as well. It was like a mixture of being around during the dark ages while at the same time being about another couple centuries of advancement in technology for healing and travel. Their magical parts were scarily similar to Earth's, but it was also deeply embedded into all aspects of the civilizations as well so their magic users had no fear of something like the Witch Hunt that had occurred.

That integration had led Harry to something that could only be described as a memory sphere. The device was a small sphere made up of a type of matter that conducted a vast amount of magic inside. Around the sphere, or rather what held the sphere in place was a small disc like base that worked as a stand and control device. The sphere and the base interfaced together to make what Harry could best describe as a mix of a pensive, video camera, and holographic display in that it could record and display similar to a video camera and a holographic display, but it could also record and play memories as well. This was done by a person thinking of the memory while placing their hand over the sphere and using the base to control the magic to 'record' the memory.

Harry had figured, and experimented on until he got it right, that the sphere could be used as a standalone construct without the base, but instead of displaying the recorded memory, it would integrate those memories into whoever was 'recovering' them. The problem with this device as opposed to the one he based his off of was that it could only be used once and the matter and magic used to create and hold those memories was a onetime deal. It wasn't like he really cared at the time considering he wasn't planning on selling this new device like the other one was. He had used the memories of his times with Ginny during his experiments and was quite pleased that when he was done, he stored all those memories and promptly sent them off into space. Intellectually he knew he had been with her intimately, but he was quite glad that even with returning- plus with the experimenting of the spheres- that those memories were gone for good.

It didn't take Harry long to explain his idea of using his invention to restore the memories of some of the harder ladies to get in contact with. Neville was quite pleased at the idea and a bit sheepish at having Harry make the spheres he needed. He was sure that he would be able to make them on his own after a bit of practice, but Harry already knew how and they both wanted the memories to be restored as soon as possible.

Neville and Minnie both stared in awe at the row of spheres on Minnie's desk after Harry had made them. Harry himself was breathing heavily after creating the spheres. There were a total of twelve spheres, six for each of them. Each was the size of a golf ball and where almost translucent if it wasn't for the white foggy substance that seemed to swirl inside.

"Okay, I know you described these things, but that's damn impressive Harry," Neville said. He had picked up one of the spheres and was looking at it closely. He could feel the magic inside the small ball and it was a little unnerving considering it was humming with power. Taking a look at Harry, who was still breathing heavily, he couldn't help but ask, "How much power does it take to even make one of these?"

"Individually, not that much power is needed to make a sphere. Granted it has enough power in it that if you focused a Reducto with the same amount on a moderate size building, you'd vaporize it. Making twelve all at once is a bit much in comparison, even if I _was_ using a good deal of the ambient magic around the school to help," Harry said while taking shuddering breaths of air. It normally wouldn't take this much of a toll on him to make the spheres, even all at once, but he didn't have as much control on his magic like he had before. It would take a while to get it back to the fine tuned ways he was used to using.

"Incredible," Minnie said examining one like Neville was. As a transfiguration master, conjuration was a rather incredible feat. It took a fair bit of imagination and incredible knowledge of how the thing you were conjuring worked and was made. "What are these spheres made of?"

Harry took a little bit to answer as his breathing was starting to get better after a few minutes.

"I'm not entirely sure of the exact make up of what that stuff is. It's similar to quartz in feel, diamond in toughness, and is probably the second best conductor for magic in existence. The planet I was on called it Materia, which for us means matter in Latin, and they didn't have an exact break down of its molecular structure as one of the components is a type of a void, which I'm betting is probably anti-matter."

At the mention of _that_ particular theory Minnie's hand dropped the sphere back to the table and drew her hands back as if it had burned her. Harry just chuckled at her as he picked up the dropped sphere once it reached his feet.

"Don't be so shocked Minnie. While anti-matter _is_ dangerous, in this thing it would be complete safe considering everything else around it. And like I said, I'm not entirely sure it actually _is_ anti-matter in the first place."

Minnie blushed at Harry's slight rebuke as he put the sphere back in its place on the line. Harry just smiled at the blush while shaking his head slightly.

"So what do we do now?" Neville asked while still looking at the sphere in his hand.

"Just do the same to get your memories out like you would a pensive but focus your magic into the strand and the ball at the same time. When you have the strand on your wand, bring the sphere to the strand and the rest will happen automatically," Harry said as he stepped up to the desk and brought six of the sphere's in front of him. Neville just nodded before closing his eyes and bringing his father's wand to his temple, following exactly the steps Harry had mentioned.

Harry was soon following Neville as he too brought forth the memories. Well, he had to enter his mindscape first to bring them forth which took a lot of concentration considering all the natural protections his subconscious had developed. When he got to where he had stored all the memories though he noticed a small change when he arrived.

The animals had changed, or rather there were four new animals added to the mix of the larger cluster. A German Sheppard was with the golden retriever, Hedwig, and the chameleon. With the kestrel, panther, and Minnie's form, there was now a brilliant white stork that had the bottom portion of its wings and tail feathers black. Sitting with to the bald eagle, anaconda, and coyote was a raven. Then with the Bengal tiger, panda, and red tail hawk there was a jaguar. He stared at them for several moments wonder what they could mean.

Granted it wasn't like he could make sense of what the other animals meant. Well not entirely. He had an inclination that most of them were animagus transformations since Minnie's and his forms were amongst the cluster. But with Hedwig's image there he wasn't sure since she was his familiar.

Shaking the mental image of his head to get back on track he spent the next several minutes pulling copies of the memories the girls had sent back with him into the spheres. Well, the harder to approach girls anyway. Daphne and Tracey were more or less ice cold to anyone at this point in their lives, especially any male that approached them. Tonks was an Auror and out of school, so was even harder to reach. Padma at this current time was incredibly reserved and spoke little with anyone outside of her sister, especially after the DA had been found out. Cho was in a slightly similar state but it was because of what Umbridge had done with her and her friend Marietta in finding the DA.

Narcissa was the penultimate worst to get in contact with though. She was currently married to one of the…_ things_… that had caused so many problems, on top of being the mother to the other one. On top of all that, she was at Malfoy Manor which held a good portion of the Death Eaters residing in it if they weren't at wherever Riddle was.

When he was done transferring the memories into the spheres, he conjured a small container to hold to spheres in. It wasn't hard to tell them apart as he could feel who each of the memories belonged to. He couldn't help but sigh as his thoughts travelled to how he would get these spheres to his ladies. It would be something that nagged at him until he had an answer.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to focus on the other two people in the room. It was Neville who had his hand on his left shoulder and both he and Minnie had small smiles on their faces. Both also had concern in their eyes.

"We'll bring them back Harry," Neville said in a comforting tone, though his voice was a little strained. He was likely having the same thoughts Harry was himself.

Harry took a deep, rattling breath and let it out before nodding to the two. His thoughts and emotions where still out of whack for him and he _really_ needed to actually sit down and just go through everything in his head to get better control of everything.

At a growling sound echoing through the room, Harry couldn't help but blush as Neville's and Minnie's small smiles turned in to amused grins. A second growling sound made his blush lessen some as his own grin appeared while Neville looked a little sheepish. The third growling sound that eclipsed the first two, and Minnie's epic blush made Harry and Neville start to chuckle. Minnie just stuck her tongue out at both of them, even if she still had an amused expression.

"Guess we can all use something to eat after everything that's happened," Minnie said, her brogue blending through in her amusement.

"Yea, guess so," Harry chuckled.

"To the Great Hall!" Neville exclaimed and pumped his arm in a manner that was more similar to Marauders and the twins.

Harry and Minnie couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped at his actions. It was something that had been missing after the Witch Hunt.

Quickly the trio decided that it wouldn't do for Harry and Neville to leave with the Minnie. Harry had seemed a bit down at that but the older woman just chuckled, forcibly turned him to face the door, and slapped him on his ass none too gently. His indignant squawk and then mild grumbling, even though he had a cheeky grin on his face, made the older woman just chuckle more. Neville just blushed crimson at the scene though laughed at Harry all the same.

Once Neville and Harry disappeared around the corner heading for the Great Hall, Minnie let out a sad sigh. She reached up to her neck and traced the ornate 'P' on her collar and had a wistful smile.

"_Things will be different this time. No matter what,"_ she swore to herself silently as she waited several minutes to head down to the hall as well.

**Location: Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Great Hall**

Neville and Harry entered the hall grinning like cats that ate the canary and chuckling. They had walked at a fairly brisk pace and spent some of that time reminiscing about the castle as they looked at everything that passed. It _was_ a little unnerving considering they had seen the castle destroyed twice, but they could _feel_ everything around the castle like they hadn't been able to before.

It was awe inspiring to be able to feel something that hadn't become as desolate and full of sorrow like it had in the future. They couldn't help themselves even as they passed a particular broom closet and felt two people having some… fun… inside. Harry had just gained a small evil little smile and not even taking a chance to stop as they passed, just twitched his hand and the door vanished. They were both out of site when it happened but the shriek and squawk of embarrassment echoed loudly in the hall.

Upon entering the hall though, Harry realized time must have gone by a lot longer than he had thought. There were a lot of people in the Hall already and even as they walked in, some of the seventh years from Ravenclaw were already leaving. No doubt to go study more since NEWTs would be in a couple of weeks. The best part was that no one really paid them any mind as they entered.

Okay that wasn't true, Umbridge was starring holes in Harry's head but he really didn't care. She couldn't really do anything to him and if she tried, well, one less toad to deal with. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't entered into the hall like this before, though Neville grinning just like him was a rarer of an instance.

But as they walked farther along the Gryffindor table to where they normally sat, Harry's eyes were drawn to the one person he wanted to see most. Sitting there quietly while reading a book and eating just as quietly was Hermione. God he had forgotten how stunning she was when researching and studying. She developed a type of tunnel vision that rivaled and surpassed his own when playing Seeker and it was always something he had admired about her because it was an integrated part of her life. She just wasn't Hermione without that focus.

Directly across from her though was the red headed prat that ruined her future. He ruthlessly had to squash the inferno that erupted in his chest and wanted him to rip the foul creature apart. He hadn't been entirely successful as the entire hall's light flickered briefly as the enchanted ceiling and candles went pitch black for a moment drawing everyone's attention. Well not everyone's. Hermione was still reading, Harry was still starring and Neville was poking Harry in the ribs.

A particularly hard jab snapped Harry out of his thoughts of torture and he caught Neville's amused but hard gazed.

"We'll figure out how to deal with _that_ particular blemish later," Neville all but ordered. The silence between the two stayed for a few seconds before Harry couldn't help but chuckle. He shook his head ruefully and sat next to Hermione as Neville, standing behind Ron for a moment, made a big motion of sighing before sitting next to him.

Harry was the only one who paid attention to the gesture and had to stifle his laugh. It wouldn't do to give Neville's new attitude away just yet. He turned to his female best friend and had to fight down the ear splitting grin that wanted to erupt on his face. He settled for a small smile as he lay a hand gently in the middle of her back.

"Hey there Hermione," he said softly, mentally doing a jig as he watched her shiver slightly at his touch and tone. Her eyes and face turned to him with a brilliant smile that made his heart beat a little faster and ache at the same time. He couldn't describe how wonderful it was to see her chocolate brown eyes sparkling in delight and her smile radiating her happiness. It did wonders to sooth a lot of the rough edges of his spirit and calmed him more than he thought it would.

"Hey Harry. What took you so long with Professor McGonagall?" Hermione asked.

Harry had to bite back the response that first came to him. Right now, Hermione still didn't have her memories and would likely flip if she knew he had had sex with her favorite professor, regardless of the reasons for why. Hell, she will probably still flip out on him once she learns of the reason why after she had her memories back. It took him a couple seconds after biting back that comment though that he had an idea.

"We were interrupted by Cardigan Monster going off in the middle of the meeting. After that, it was setting up some other meetings for a project I've been working on for a while with Neville," Harry said motioning his head over to Neville.

Neville had been listening and knew what Harry was talking about already, but he just gave a shy smile and nodded when a confused looking Hermione looked his way.

"But you've never told me about any project. And ever since the DA was caught, I haven't seen you or Neville working on anything other your homework," Hermione stated in a slightly annoyed and depressed tone.

Harry had never really kept anything from her before, so why would he have been keeping something from her now? It hurt a little bit thinking that he didn't trust her enough to talk to her about it, and it clearly showed because Harry had a frown on his face while looking at her.

"I know, and I'm sorry for keeping this from you. It just wouldn't do to have _some_ people know what we were working on," Harry said with his eyes darting to Ron briefly as he put his emphasis on 'some.'

Hermione was if anything more confused at that. Harry and Ron had been pretty good friends, so why would he want to keep something from Ron? Granted she knew things about Harry that Ron had no clue about, but still, this was a little disconcerting.

As the confusion grew on her face, and she started to bite down on her lower lip slightly as she thought about what it was Harry was talking about, Harry couldn't help but sigh. Restoring her memories was probably going to be harder than he thought, and he was suddenly annoyed he had only made six of those spheres for himself initially. It would probably be better to just make one for each of them, including Hermione regardless of how much he knew she trusted him.

But as he was thinking about the spheres, another idea came to him, especially at the mention of the DA. It would be the perfect reason to get in touch with almost all of the girls he and Neville needed to. And he could do it now! He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he thought of the perfect place to do what he needed to do too.

"Tell you what Hermione, Neville and I will let you in on our project," Harry said making a discrete motion for Neville to go along with what he was saying. His sandy haired friend was obviously confused but agreed to go along by nodding.

"Okay, but this project better not get us into any more trouble than we've already gotten into. And you do _not_ need to get another detention again," Hermione said passionately while absently taking hold of his left hand in both of hers. Her soft fingers gently traced the words that had already been carved into the skin from the copious amounts of times he had to write '_I must not tell lies'_ with a blood quill. The motion sent a slight shiver up Harry's spine from the intimate touch. Using his peripheral vision, he discretely checked on Ron, who hadn't noticed a thing and was still stuffing his face.

"_Good, he won't know what hits him when it comes,"_ Harry thought viciously about the red head.

"Don't worry Hermione, it's perfectly safe. Although, we _could_ do with some extra help," Harry said then looked directly at Neville for confirmation that he understood what he meant. Neville was a bit confused at first, but figured out what he meant after a bit of thought. Turning back to Hermione Harry continued, "It will probably help to have a couple of the DA people there as well since that galleon you created helped trigger the idea. Especially that _other_ set you created after the first batch."

Hermione stiffened at the emphasis on '_other'_ during Harry's talking while looking at him.

"W-What do you mean other set? I only made the one," she whispered harshly, almost coming out as a hiss. She even looked to Ron briefly, her face somewhat scared that he had heard Harry.

Harry's deep but soft chuckle brought back an intense and questioning glare from Hermione.

"I'm not as unobservant as you thought Hermione. I know quite well about your own… 'trio' as it were, that came to be during Arithmancy in third year when I was being an ass," Harry said softly but with a slight mischievous look in his eyes.

Hermione couldn't help her eyes growing large at his statement, or her mouth opening slightly in shock. She had no idea Harry had paid that much attention to something, especially with how angry and angst ridden he had been for most of the year. This was on top of whatever this project he was working on and had kept from her.

"I… I didn't think anyone else knew about _that_ study group," she said softly once her brain caught up a bit.

Harry couldn't help the snort that came out at that. "Please don't take me for an idiot Hermione," he started firmly, making Hermione flinch at his tone, "The only reason no one else has said anything is because they don't want to deal with how someone would react if they knew exactly _who_ was in that study group."

At that he inclined his head to Ron, who was still oblivious to anything else but the food he was stuffing his face with.

"I know you have other friends outside of us," Harry continued a lot softer with a small smile on his face, "And to be honest I think it's great that you found some that share your passion for learning. Besides, we could use their different opinion, especially if they brought their other close friends as well. Outside views are always welcome."

Hermione gave him a long look at _that_ declaration. It was completely honest from what she could tell and she felt as if a burden she hadn't known she was carrying suddenly lifted from her shoulders at his acceptance of her other friends. She hadn't meant to keep them a secret from him, but she was slightly fearful of his reaction to at least one of her friends. Well, more so Ron's as he seemed to influence Harry's emotions more than her, something that confused her to no end, and if _he_ found out who one of her friends was, he would go off like a volcano on her. That Harry already knew and accepted them made her feel much better, especially as he knew how Ron would react as well and hadn't said anything.

"Tell you what," Harry said suddenly, bringing her out of her brief thoughts, "Neville and I will meet you in the library in about an hour as him and I still need to eat and talk to the other people we had planned on getting help from. That should give you enough time to get that message to the others, and let them know to bring their best friends as well. Does that sound like a plan to you?"

Hermione looked briefly at Neville then back to Harry seeing them both looking at her intently. She sighed slightly but nodded.

"I'll go head up there now and send the message," Hermione said before excusing herself and leaving. Harry and Neville both gave her smiles and waves at her departure, Ron just kept eating and didn't even notice her leaving till she was already gone. He had stuffed himself pretty much full by that point and it was as he was taking a drink of Pumpkin Juice that he noticed Hermione gone and Neville and Harry eating quietly.

"Hey mate, when did you get here? And where'd Hermione go?" Ron asked as he looked around the hall perplexed. If he hadn't been looking around he would have noticed Harry's finger's whiten as they gripped his fork, and Neville giving Harry a hard stare and a slight kick under the table.

"Just got back from meeting with McGonagall," Harry said quietly, forcing all of the rage that was building in his chest again down to a minor irritation. Hopefully it came off as the meeting not going well, though knowing Ron, he'd just assuming Harry was being angst ridden again. "Hermione left a little bit ago and is headed to the library later. Neville and I are going to meet up with her to get some studying done for OWLs. You can join us if you like."

Watching Ron's face scrunch up in disgust was mildly amusing, as was watching it pale slightly at the notion of studying for something that was several weeks away.

"Uh, no thanks, I'd rather not be around Hermione and one of her studying moods again. I think I'll just go back to the Common Room and see if I can get Dean or Seamus to play a game of chess," Ron said. Harry wondered if it was the studying or the mention of Hermione that made Ron's tone come off as disgusted.

"Suite yourself then," Harry said and went back to eating. He deliberately ignored the odd look Ron gave him before he stood up and left the hall.

"You know, I never really figured out how the hell he was so bloody dense and so easily swayed away from anything related to work," Neville stated once Ron was gone with some amusement.

"A mix of an inferiority complex mixed with healthy doses of Napoleon Syndrome, procrastination, jealousy, and thinking the world owes you something. Well that, or he fell out of the idiot tree and hit every branch on the way down," Harry said with a smug look. The two couldn't help but chuckle at that as it _did_ describe Ron.

They both seemed to sober up though as they ate quietly again for several minutes.

"So how are we going to get the others to meet with us? Umbridge and her little toadies would rat us out meeting in a heartbeat, especially after the DA was discovered. Not to mention we can't use the normal method to get in touch as it would bring everyone to the library," Neville asked.

"We can just get up and talk to them briefly while they are still in the hall. If the toad monster finds out we are meeting, we can just tell her or her squad what we told Ron, we'll be in the library studying for OWLs. It does have _some_ truth to it after all," Harry said with a bit of a grin. Neville was silent for a few moments before chuckling.

"Good point. So who contacts who then?" Neville said while looking around the hall.

Harry did the same thing to see who was still in the Great Hall. Of the staff, he saw only Professors Sprout and Flitwick who were talking quietly with Minnie. She caught his eye briefly during her conversation and nodded to him slightly without taking her attention from her conversation. It gave him a bit of an idea as well to help cover their tracks.

Looking around further he saw Lavender and Parvati further down the table talking and giggle every now and then. Not far from them he saw Katie sitting with Angelina and Alicia, the latter two looking slightly down and it looked like Katie was trying to cheer them up. At the Ravenclaw table he saw Luna sitting by herself, as was a bit normal for her lately, but her dreamy expression was gone. That caught him a bit off guard as it looked like she was focusing intently on her food and thinking hard. It worried him a little bit as she was almost completely unflappable. He was a little glad to note that Padma was sitting close to her, but was sending her curious glances every now and then at her odd behavior. When Padma wasn't looking at Luna, she was talking with her fellow female fifth year housemates, more than likely about what to prepare for their future tests. At the Hufflepuff table he saw Susan and Hannah sitting and talking amongst themselves like Parvati and Lavender were, just minus a fair amount of the giggling. With the Slytherins, Daphne and Tracey were just eating quietly by themselves. They did however notice Harry and Neville when they looked directly at them and their faces had questioning looks briefly before becoming the emotionless masks that were customary for them to bear.

Of all the girls that had been a part of those Neville and he had saved, only Cho, Su Li, Astoria, and Pansy weren't there. Those were the harder people to contact in school right now as it was anyways.

"Well with the exception of Pansy, Cho, Astoria, and Su Li, it shouldn't be hard to talk to the girls to get them to come along. Katie, Lavender, and Parvati are close enough together that we can talk to them all at once. We can probably get Parvati to relay a message to Padma, and through her Luna as well. That would leave Hermione's message to get to Susan, Hannah, Daphne, and Tracey," Harry said when he returned to face Neville.

Neville sat back and thought about that for a minute or two before focusing on Harry again and nodding.

"And how soon should we tell them? I mean, you did tell Hermione in an hour," Neville stated.

"Once we finish eating a bit more, well at least once I finish a bit more. I need to get to the library and make more of those spheres before the other girls get there."

"Why's that?"

"Remember I have those _wonderful_ remedial lessons with the greasy bat. Thinking on it now, only Hermione would be the only person who trusts me enough to bring her into my head, but with how those lessons went and how I was reacting to them, she would freak out the second she felt the draw in and fight it while trying to figure out who I was. This way we can just pass of the spheres as a project for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."

"And when they don't believe us considering we aren't in those classes?" Neville deadpanned at Harry.

"That's why we asked them to check our 'work' to find any flaws. Besides, I really do have something that I was working around the same time as I was figuring out these spheres. Once their memories are back, I actually would like some of their insight on what I made considering I was basing it off of a method of communication that was made for a video game. Well sort of anyways, it's a mix of the galleons we used for the DA and the concept that was in that game. I'll tell you more about it when the girls are back because it's damn useful."

Neville just raised an eyebrow at that before shaking his head in amusement. There were a few quirks he knew too look for in Harry after the Witch Hunt, but it seemed he had developed a few more. Granted, he couldn't say much as he had developed his own quirks while in the afterlife.

They stayed quiet for about another ten minutes with Harry eating a fair bit more food than normal. Thankfully no one really noticed considering he didn't make a mess at all unlike how Ron always did. Once he was done, he set his silverware down and wiped his face before taking a long drink of juice and sighing in contentment.

"Finished?" Neville asked with an amused tone.

"Yes, I forgot how good it was to have someone else cook your food. Any who, ready to start the chain?" Harry asked, looking around the hall again to make sure Umbridge wasn't there. Thankfully she wasn't, and neither was Snape. Turning briefly back to Neville he got a nod and the two stood before making their way towards where Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Lavender, and Parvati were sitting.

Neville stayed quiet but by Harry's side when they got there.

Harry though walked up between Katie and Angelina as they were sitting on the same side of the table across from Alicia. Lavender and Parvati were on the same side as Alicia but two seats away, though still within hearing distance.

"Hey, are you ladies alright?" Harry asked in a concerned tone as he set a hand gently on Katie's and Angelina's shoulders to get their attention. Well Katie's at least, Angelina was still moping slightly as was Alicia. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lavender and Parvati lower the volume they were talking at but start to pay attention to Harry and the Gryffindor chasers. They were all members of the DA after all and had developed at least a bit of friendship amongst each other.

"Hey Harry," Katie greeted with a bit of a grin, "I'm fine but these two moping cases are still upset over the twins leaving. They didn't even leave a proper 'good bye' or anything!"

Harry chuckled a bit at that remembering the Fred and George's parting shots at Umbridge. It was one of the best things they had ever done. Thinking back on that actually, it wasn't that long ago if he remembered correctly.

"Don't worry Angelina, Alicia. I'm sure they'll get in touch with you two sooner or later. If not, you can always hunt them down and hex them something fierce for leaving two stunning women behind," Harry said with boyish grin, trying to cheer them up. It seemed to work well enough since the two people in question both stared at him with an eyebrow raised but small smiles on their faces.

"Oh, trying to be suave there Harry. Should George and Fred be concerned?" Katie teased seeing her fellow teammate's looks.

"Not at all," Harry said with a grin, "After all, Angelina and Alicia are like the older sisters I wish I had. If Fred or George hurt them in anyway, especially if they don't get in contact with them, I'll have to hunt them down and hex them myself!"

The eyebrows went down at that but their smiles got bigger as their eyes got a little misty at that. It was one thing their former captain and teammate Oliver Wood had hammered into all of his players when he was still there. Your team was like your family, especially since they had all been together for such a long time. Before now though, Harry hadn't really brought up anything in resemblance of family considering his past, and saying that they were like the sisters to him made their hearts clench a bit, especially as they didn't have any siblings of their own.

"Well then little bro, we'll be sure to tell you if they make us sad again," Angelina said softly and reached up to wrap an arm around his waist in a brief one arm hug. She idly noted that Harry seemed a lot taller than he had been a couple days ago. Alicia just nodded at Angelina's words as she was a bit more choked up from Harry calling her a sister.

Harry chuckled softly at the two. What he had said was the truth, as they, along with Fleur, _had_ been like the older sisters he had dreamt of having. Briefly looking at Katie though he saw her frowning slightly, but she changed it quickly into a small grin once she saw him looking her way. He had an inkling to what her thoughts where as he had left her out from that comment. She was likely trying to figure out what she meant to him then.

"_I should probably get to the reason why I'm here then outside of cheering Angelina and Alicia up a bit,"_ Harry thought before saying, "Well, outside of cheering up my new big sisters, I actually _did_ have a reason for coming over here. Katie, Neville and I have a project we've been working on, especially since our group was found out. We were hoping you could help on it a bit as it deals with some work that's a little above our level."

Katie's brow furrowed in confusion at that before she asked, "What about Hermione? With how much she studies she should be able to help you better than I can since she's in your year. I mean it's not like I don't want to help you, but it seems like she'd be better equipped so to speak."

"She's actually going to meet us in the library in about 45 minutes and we are actually looking for a few other people's points of view on our project. Most of them are from the DA, but a couple of them won't be so we can get some more outside view points," Neville said for Harry, shocking the three chasers and Parvati and Lavender who had been listening to the conversation. None of them had heard Neville talk without sounding like he had no self confidence what so ever.

He _had_ gotten better during the DA, but he had regressed some when it had been found out. Hearing him talk with a self assuredness that hadn't been there before was a bit more than they were prepared for. Especially as Neville then turned to Parvati and Lavender specifically and looked directly at them before continuing, "Lavender, Parvati, we'd like you two to meet up with us as well. Our project could use a bit of style to it that quite frankly, Harry and I are miserable at."

Harry nodded along with what Neville had said though inwardly he was laughing. The dumbfounded looks on the five girls faces was great, but Lavender's and Parvati's looks after being singled out by 'the shyest boy in the school' and having him admit that he would like some assistance with something related to style was priceless. Not to mention Neville had unknowingly asked for their assistance in something Harry would have asked for them with the second idea he had once the girls' memories were back. After all, what Neville had said about their sense of style was true, they absolutely sucked at it.

"Would you like our help too?" Alicia asked after a bit of the five girls doing imitations of fishes.

Harry had expect that question already and answered, "Normally I'd say absolutely, but we aren't sure how long this is going to take tonight and we don't want to drag you two away from NEWT level studies down to something that's around OWL level. If it proves harder than what we already have though we'll be sure to come to you two first."

Angelina and Alicia looked a little put out at that but nodded all the same. It made a lot of sense since this _was_ their final year here and NEWTs were brutal.

After getting their nods though, Harry turned to Parvati and said, "Neville and I actually have to get things set up in the library here pretty soon so we hopefully won't be there until the library closes. However, can you talk to Padma and get her and Luna to come with you as well? We'd like them to be part of the focus group for our project."

"Um, that shouldn't be a problem Harry. Lavender and I will go talk to them now. Should they or we bring anything with us?" Parvati asked.

"Not really. A lot of what we'll need is already in the library," Harry said, hoping to avoid them asking what the 'project' was.

Lavender and Parvati just looked at him curiously before getting up and heading the Ravenclaw table.

"And you Katie?" Harry asked when he turned back to face her. She still had that slightly confused expression on her face but nodded slowly.

"Sure, I'll meet you there. I just have to let Leanne know where I'll be," Katie said then stood and headed out of the hall to find her friend.

Turning back to Angelina and Alicia, Harry did an exaggerated bow to the two and said, "Well fair ladies, we bid you adieu."

He had that boyish smile on his face again as he stood back up, and noticed them both chuckling at his antics. Both were clearly out of their gloomy moods now, and would hopefully be that way for a while.

Before he and Neville turned to leave the hall as well, Harry glanced over again at the staff table to Minnie. They were close enough to the table for her to have heard what he was saying, and as it was, Professor Sprout was engaged in some conversation with Professor Flitwick off to her side, so she was focused on them directly. She nodded slightly at him again when he looked directly at her. She would likely be there as well now all things considered, and it would probably help smooth over whatever edges there were about him and Neville having this 'project.'

From there he and Neville left the hall and once out of the main doors, Neville watched as Harry made another of the spheres in his hand instantly followed by retrieving the memories and putting them in the sphere. It was a little unnerving as he did the entire action while still walking and was doing it smoothly.

In no time, another six spheres were completed and placed in the container he had made, which now resided in his pocket.

"You know, that was a little freaky watching you do that while walking. Especially since you don't seem as winded like you were when you made the other ones," Neville said as they made their way to the library.

"Oh, sorry about that, I get a bit of tunnel vision when focusing on something too much. I blame playing as a seeker for that. As for not being winded, I'm told you earlier they don't take much power individually, it's the making of them in bulk that's the problem," Harry said as they came up to the library and entered.

"And doing all of that while walking and not paying attention to anyone who could see what you were doing?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, oops?" Harry said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head, "I wasn't really thinking about that."

"Smooth," Neville drawled, "Just be glad nobody was actually walking anywhere near us, and the path you lead us down had all of the portraits asleep already."

"Yea, that would have been hard to explain. Now, where to sit with enough space for the others," Harry said while looking around at the tables in the main area. Neville was doing the same and tapped Harry on the shoulder to get his attention before pointing the table he had seen out to him.

When Harry saw where Neville was pointing, he couldn't keep from laughing slightly. Ironically, the only table that had enough seats for them and the girls already had an occupant at it, but that occupant was someone they would be looking for later anyways. That person, was none other than Astoria and they quietly made their way over to the table where she was.

"Hello there," Neville greeted quietly to not draw attention from Madam Prince.

Astoria's head jerked up from being startled out of her reading to see Harry and Neville standing on the other side of the table where she was at. Her shock from being interrupted in her studies turned into a cold expression quickly as she obviously already knew who they were.

"Potter, Longbottom, can I help you two _Gryffindors_ with something?" Astoria all but hissed at them.

Harry and Neville blinked at her question while they looked at each other briefly before looking back at her with raised eyebrows.

"Actually you can. We have a bit of a study group coming soon that's a fair bit of people and this is the only table with enough space to seat everyone. We were wondering if we could perhaps share the table," Harry said quietly but never took his eyes of Astoria.

His comment got an eyebrow raised in return.

"And why would two Gryffindors be willing to share a table with a Slytherin? Especially you two considering how much of a… problem… you two seem to have with my house," Astoria demanded.

"Not your house, just Malfoy, his butt buddy book ends, and well, most of the other death eater spawn. They don't really seem to get the whole house of cunning and ambitious part of your house," Neville drawled in response drawing a look of shock from Astoria directed at him.

Harry chuckled at the scene. He hadn't known Astoria at all during his Hogwarts years but damn she was as feisty now as she was later in life. Well before the Hogwarts Massacre. That thought brought his chuckling to a stop as he had to force down the urge to find Draco, _again, _and dole out the punishment he had when he had found him last time. It had been a macabre scene, even for him.

He shook his head to get his thoughts away from that darker place. _That_ future wasn't going to happen this time around.

"I… guess we can share then. Just try not to disturb me as I'm trying to finish up my homework," Astoria said firmly.

"Well we have a little bit of time before our group gets here, we might be able to help you a bit?" Neville offered as he took a seat across from the young girl. She gave him another raised eyebrow at that and asked, "And how would you help? Last I heard from my sister neither of you were taking Arithmancy."

"We were doing independent studies for Arithmancy along with Ancient Runes," Harry answered for Neville who had looked towards Harry. His face had been neutral but he had a slight pleading look in his eye.

Neville had been pretty good with the subjects once he had started studying them after the Witch Hunt. A lot of what he had learned though came from the older Astoria, and he wasn't sure how to 'help' her with something that she had taught him without giving that he knew how her mind worked in those fields when he obviously shouldn't.

"Oh really," she drawled while turning that eyebrow on Harry now. He had to force the urge to chuckle down as the young girl was truly trying to not show her curiosity that he and Neville were apparently smarter than they let on. The eyebrow and her expression just made her look cute in Harry's opinion. "So would you be able to describe why the numbers 3, 7, and 13 are the most magically powerful numbers in numerology?"

This time Harry couldn't stop the laugh that came up at her question, which promptly earned him a scowl.

Seeing that he calmed down a bit and answered, "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at your question, it's just that the witch that discovered why those numbers were significant got their power structures completely and utterly wrong. That's not to say she wasn't on to something, but she never really took her research farther than what she found."

"And what makes you think you know better than a master in the field?" Astoria asked with both curiosity and coldness in her voice. She was obviously trying to act older and more mature, but it was obvious she couldn't control every aspect of her youth just yet.

"I wouldn't say better at the field, just better informed. Specifically when it comes to the tools used," Harry started while taking out his wand, "To start with, let's look at the number three. If memory serves, the generally accepted reason that 3 is such a powerful number was because of a shape, a triangle to be precise. This triangle has three equal sides of equal length, and the three angles generated from connecting the three points in a line are all of the same degree."

While Harry was talking he was using his wand to draw an image in the air before him as he described what he was talking about. The three points were black, and the lines connecting them were red.

"Now here is where the research could have gone farther. While the shape and reasoning is sound, the shape itself has an inherent flaw. The three sides that make up the triangle all require that magic be flowing through them to make up the points. If you remove one point though, you lose two sides and the amount of power is reduced by two thirds. Now though, let's remove one of the sides, leaving the three points but two sides, and instead of leaving them with angles, move them so that they are in a single line. Here you are left with two individual points that are connected with a central one that connects to the two separate ones. Can you tell me why this structure is better suited to describe the power in the number 3?"

Again as Harry had been talking, he had moved the shape in the air with his wand to follow his descriptions. Both Neville and Astoria were paying rapt attention to what Harry was describing as well as the rather brilliant visual display to accompany the description. None of the three noticed that some of the other students around them were suddenly paying attention as well.

Astoria thought hard for a little while before answering, "Well if you go by the same idea of removing a point, say one of the individual ones, your power is cut in half instead of two thirds. If you remove the central point though you lose all the power as the other two aren't directly connected."

"Correct on the first part, but wrong on the second, at least in part. If all three points where generating power on their own you would be correct. This particular model though is different, can you figure out how?" Harry questioned.

It was Neville that answered this time, and rather quickly at that, "The two individual points are the ones that are generating the power, directing it to the central point where all the power is absorbed to be used. If you remove the central point there is no longer a direct focus for the power that's generated from the individual points. Instead it's being looped between the two individual ones. The power they are generating and dispersing doesn't change at all."

"Very good, but then why would you need the third point if the power could still be generated with the two individual ones?" Harry asked, though it was more for Astoria's benefit. Neville knew this concept pretty well considering the ritual they had used early was based off of it.

"With only the two points having power flow in a loop, the power isn't being condensed, just recycled. Without being condensed there's a bleed effect and a good portion of the power is lost when used from the two individual points," Neville responded with a slight smile. He briefly looked at Astoria who had her mouth open in shock. He wasn't surprised really as he figured she'd get the concept as they described it. It had taken him a while to understand it when Harry had described the ritual to him and how it worked, but once he finally under stood it, it made the most sense out of everything to him.

Harry was laughing inwardly again at the look on Astoria's face. She was a lot like her older sister in mannerisms, and he briefly wondered how many people had seen either of them do an impression of a fish.

"Correct. And starting here is the best because it brings in the concept of a focus point. That focus point becomes the center piece for why certain numbers are more numerically powerful than others. The biggest reason though is that it forces symmetry and balance between the individual points. That means they each generate the exact same amount of power on their own and bring that similarly generated power into the exact same spot at the exact same time. This removes pretty much all even numbers as at they can generally be broken down by 2, meaning they leave themselves in that feedback loop from earlier."

"From here though, we'll look at the next number seven. Starting with the same model, we need to add four points to the three that are already laid out, but keep in mind we need to keep the symmetry as well. Do you have an idea as to where to place them with those boundaries in mind?" Harry asked while looking directly at Astoria. Again he already knew that Neville knew this particular bit.

Astoria was quiet for a while thinking. She opened her mouth several times before closing it abruptly as she was trying to come up with a suitable answer. After a while though she blushed slightly, something else that most would probably never see, and said, "I can't think of anything that doesn't seem to have be missing something. The closest I can come up with is a formation like an 'X' with the center point being the same focus point. Yet the problem there is that the image is no longer completely symmetrical in that the line going through horizontally doesn't have a corresponding set of points to make a line that if the image was shifted ninety degrees to the left or right, the horizontal line would now be vertical and there would be no more horizontal line. If you added two more points you could do it, but then the model would be similar to a square in how you could connect the points. It would still be fairly strong, especially for the number 9, but would lack the focus that you are trying to get at since the number you want is 7 not 9."

"_Damn, she got that fast,"_ Harry though impressed. She was only thirteen currently and at least understood a flaw in something that probably would stump a fair few mathematicians. He wondered idly if she had looked up some mundane math subjects in relation to Arithmancy already considering that's where all this theory he was talking about _now_ came from anyways.

"Very, very, very good. I'm impressed that you caught the flaw that quickly. You saw a very specific problem for why something won't work. There is a way using your 'X' method though to get the desired results," Harry started and while he still had the line with the three points floating in the air, he made an X right next to it, making the lines red again, and the points at each end of the line and where they connected together black. This left the 'X' with five black dots and four red lines and the single 'line' with 3 black dots and two red lines. From there he slid the x over the single line so that the center point of the intersection on the x was lined up with the center point of the line.

"Here we can see what you were talking about. But, to make things stay symmetrical, and maintain that balance let's shift the model a bit. From here, let's move the single line from horizontal to vertical. Now from there, instead of keeping the X still staying with the line, let's rotate the 'X' by itself so that it lies perpendicular to the now vertical line. Now, if you are looking at this from straight on, it looks like you are looking at a plus sign, something that has four individual points with one central focus. But if I tilt the entire model a little bit, you can see how the X provides the necessary two additional points in that they are both in front of and behind those other five points. This means you can draw power from 6 distinct but similar points and combine them into the focus point in the center," Harry said while adjusting the image as he talked.

He watched in amusement as Astoria's face scrunched up in confusion at first, especially at how the image looked until he adjust the angle so that she could see all seven points. When that happened, it was like a light switch came on she stared in amazement at the floating image before her. It seemed so simple and yet so complex at the same time.

"Is there a reason you feel the need to put on a show for my sister Potter?" a voice asked with some distain to Harry and Neville's right, and Astoria's left. Harry and Neville knew the voice quite well, as did Astoria and all three of them turned to the owner.

When they turned, they saw Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis standing side by side at the end of the table. Daphne had her arms crossed across her chest and had a look on her face that demanded he answer her. Well normally it would have anyways as Harry was drawn briefly away from her scowl to look around at some of the other people in the library. A couple of the other third year students were staring at his floating image in awe, and a couple older students looked intrigued but went back to their own work when they realized Harry was looking at them.

When he brought his attention back to Daphne, her expression had gotten a bit frostier. He sighed mentally at her look. He knew that until her memories were restored that she would live up to her 'Ice Queen of Slytherin' persona quite well.

"Do I feel the need to 'put on a show' as you put it? No, I do not. Neville and I were asked a question and we were answering it. Well, I was answering it mostly, as I was also creating the demonstration," Harry said calmly, motioning to the still floating image.

"And the reason you are doing this for my sister?" Daphne demanded, her expression getting colder.

Harry winced a bit at the tone as he was very aware of how protective Daphne was of Astoria at her current age. He was treated to a nice surprise though as Astoria came to his rescue.

"They told me they had a study group coming here Daphne and asked if they could share the table. I told them they could if they didn't disturb me with their group. They then asked if I needed help while they waited for their group to show up, and the result was Potter and Longbottom describing why 3, 7, and 13 are so powerful in numerology. That image actually helped with the description," Astoria said in a somewhat condescending tone.

Both Daphne and Tracey had a brief look of shock on their faces at Astoria standing up for Harry and Neville. The looks of surprise turned to furrowed brows quickly though after the two looked to each other then to Harry and Neville.

"We were informed you two had a project you needed help on, not a study group," Tracey drawled out in mildly confused tone.

"It's more of a mix of the two I guess you could say. Our project is in an area of study that we've been working on for independent study instead of going to a normal class. The study group is like a focus group to help make sure we haven't messed anything up. Not to mention that because of our project we figured some other people might come up with ideas of their own to either add or make our project more efficient," Harry said.

It wasn't entirely false as he _did_ have an idea for a project and needed some feedback on. It just wouldn't come until the girls that would be joining them got their memories back.

"If it makes you feel any better about being here, we can tell you exactly what we told Astoria here," Neville started, waving his hand at the younger girl, "We don't really care that any of you are Slytherins. You aren't Malfoy or any of the other useless wastes of the gene pool that prance around Slytherin and have no idea how to be cunning or ambitious."

He blatantly ignored the slightly puzzled look he got from Astoria. It was well known who Neville and Harry were, especially their last names. But she had never introduced herself, and it was unlikely they knew who she was as she wasn't in their house or in their year. On top of that, it was unlikely they knew her name, or at least her family name until Daphne came along and mentioned her as her sister. That would have clued them in that she was a Greengrass, but unless Daphne had told them he name before, a high improbability, they shouldn't really know her name.

Tracey was the one who broke any rising tension as she chuckled at Neville's words. It drew the raised eyebrow look from both Daphne and Astoria, which made her chuckle turn into a bit of a laugh.

"I don't think I've heard a more apt description of most of the members of Slytherin house," Tracey said while trying to contain her mirth and failing spectacularly.

"Tracey!" Daphne huffed at her friend in annoyance.

"What? They were pretty damn close to how those actually bastards are. Can you think of something else that defines how they act?" Tracey demanded as became angry instantly and her face became stormy.

Harry knew the reason for her switch in mood, and this really wasn't the place for her and Daphne to have their argument.

"Ladies," Harry interrupted before Daphne could open her mouth to say anything. The two girls instantly snapped their gazes to Harry at his addressing them, only to cower back slightly at the look in his eyes. He wasn't channeling any of his power, but it still held a great deal of intenseness to it, especially with how serious he sounded.

"This is not the place to air one's dirty laundry as it were, especially concerning the members of your house. While I agree that a majority of your house lacks a modicum of decent intelligence, they seem to have a knack for finding secrets someone spouted off without being aware of their surroundings. So I'm fairly certain you do not want to get into the argument you were about to have," Harry stated sternly.

It was like a Professor was scolding them. The two girls and Astoria, who had been listening intently as well when she had looked at him as her sister and her friend had, nodded their heads absently.

"Good," Harry said, his tone changing to be gentler one, "Now I believe the two of you are here because Hermione got her message out already?"

The look of surprise on both of their faces nearly made him chuckle, but he held back as he was trying to be serious. Neville seemed to have no such problems though as he chuckled under his breath.

"I'll take your expressions as a yes," Harry drawled, "So why don't you two take a seat and wait with us for the others. They should be here any minute now anyways. Not to mention Astoria might like join in with and contribute some points seeing as how she got where I was going with my theory."

The two Slytherin girls just nodded absently again before taking seats next to Astoria. It would be another ten minutes as the other girls started showing up, and five minutes past that before they were all there minus Hermione. The rest of the girls greeted each other and Harry and Neville, but eyed Astoria, Daphne, and Tracey a little warily until Harry assured them they were here for the same reason. They calmed down a bit more when Susan greeted Daphne by hugging her, and shaking hands with Tracey and Astoria.

Thankfully Lavender and Parvati arrived after that scene as they probably would have made a small scene. As it was, they were the second to last to arrive and all that was missing was Hermione. She showed up a few minutes later, but not alone as Minnie came in along with her.

"Sorry I'm late," Hermione greeted as she sat down next to Harry, the only available seat. "I kind of ran into Professor McGonagall quite literally coming out of the common room."

Everyone but Hermione turned and looked at the Professor at that.

"Ms. Granger explained to me why she was in a hurry, although vaguely, and considering that most of you here had a recent… entanglement… with our High Inquisitor, I felt best if I was here to listen in as it were to make sure things don't get out of hand," Minnie explained in her stern voice. Only Harry caught the slight twitch of her lips.

"That's fine professor. We can always use a professionals input," Harry said. He was trying very hard not to laugh considering she knew what was likely going to happen.

Minnie just nodded at him at that point as she conjured a chair for herself and sat at the head of the table to listen.

"Okay first off, the project that Neville and I have been working on is something that is a mix of charms, Arithmancy, and Runes. It's a type of communication device that works a bit like a walkie-talkie but with some distinct differences. Neville and I have some of what we've made with us, and we'll hand out what we have so far. The problems we are having right now are keying specific people in to each of the spheres so that only they can use them. We tried to key in people we knew and drew names from a hat for our, uh, focus group. Neville, why don't we hand out the spheres now," Harry stated as he pulled out his container from his pocket and started handing out the right memory sphere to his loves.

First was Hermione, then Luna, Katie, Padma, Susan, Daphne, and finally Tracey while Neville handed his to Hannah, Lavender, Parvati, and then finally Astoria who he had deliberately left for last, as had Harry with Daphne and Tracey. To go with the ruse Neville handed one of the spheres to Minnie after asking her if she would like to be part of the test group as well.

"You said you tried to key these into people specifically? How did you try to key these into Tracey, my sister and I then?" Daphne asked with a bit of coldness in her voice.

"The ones you three have are keyed to anyone. They have everything else the others do though," Harry said. He got a nod as Daphne stared at the sphere in her hands. All of the girls were doing that with their own spheres wondering why they felt as if a part of them were in them.

"Okay for to make these work, all you need to do is focus some of your magic into the sphere to activate it. For the ones keyed to individuals, this should set the sphere to you permanently," Harry instructed after watching the girls stare at their spheres with a mixture of emotions.

"Harry, you said these were a mixture of Arithmancy, Runes, and Charms. How did you even make these as neither of you are in either of those classes?" Hermione asked after Harry had spoken. All eyes turned to him and Neville.

"Independent study Hermione. After hearing how much you enjoyed the classes in third year, I was curious and started to learn the subjects on my own. Neville started in with me after the second task last year. I never said anything to you before now because Ron would have thrown a fit and I didn't want him ruining something I find almost as fun as flying. So we kept it to ourselves what were learning until this year. This project was something we are hoping allows us to convince the Professor Babling and Professor Vector that we can take the OWLs with t he rest of you. It's getting a little hard in certain areas now and we'd like to have a teacher to help than just reading in a book."

"Oh," Hermione responded a bit shyly as she looked back at her sphere.

"Um, Harry. How are we supposed to focus our magic into the sphere?" Parvati asked. Looking around he saw all the girls looking at him a little confused. He wanted to hit his head on the table for forgetting that this wasn't something taught at all. Well, the way he did it anyways. This _almost_ ruined his idea if it wasn't for the fact there was at least another way to focus ones magic. It was taught in seventh year runes specifically and very few people made it that far or followed through with runes that far.

Thankfully it was Minnie who answered the question for Harry, taking away him fumbling for an answer. Neville seemed to be in a similar state as he was used to focusing magic the same way Harry did.

"There is a few ways to focus your magic Ms. Patil. The simplest way, as it seems Lord Potter and Lord Longbottom are having a lapse in memory, is to use your wand. You must feel the magic in yourself and how it flows into your wand and then out the tip as you cast a spell. Normally, the idea of focusing one's magic is taught only in seventh year runes, but I'm assuming for this purpose you don't need nearly the focus or power. A simple tap of your wand, which will be drawing on your magic naturally anyways should be enough, right Lord Potter?" Minnie stated. At the end she was looking at Harry directly. Both of them, and Neville for that matter, ignored the several gasps at how she addressed them.

The only people to likely know what it meant anyways were Daphne, Tracey, Astoria, and Susan. Out of the corner of his hey he saw Hermione look at him questioningly, then to Minnie, then back to him. She likely filed away the incident to talk to him later. It wouldn't really matter though as she'd know what it meant here in a minute anyways.

"Yes, that's correct. Just make sure that you are actually holding the sphere in the hand that isn't holding the wand," Harry mentioned and watched as one by one the girls drew their wands and held the spheres in their opposite hands.

It was almost as if it was choreographed as almost all at once the girls touched the tips of their wands to the spheres. The second the wand tip touched, the spheres started glowing a soft emerald green before the soft glow quickly span to encompass the entirety of the girl holding their sphere.

Harry frowned at seeing that as he was positive there wasn't even a glow when he had finally finished the first correct memory sphere. As he frowned though he felt the ring on his right middle finger heat up and pulse with magic. When he glanced at it, he saw the stone was glowing. It was the exact same color that surrounded the girls too.

But before he could think on it farther, there was a slight pulse of magic and the glows stopped. He looked briefly to Neville and Minnie, as they looked to him after noticing his frown.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Neville asked with concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure. When I perfected this, I never glowed," Harry responded while looking over the girls. They had all sat back heavily in their seats and their eyes were closed.

Susan, Hannah, and Katie were the first to start recovering as they sat forward and brought their hands to the head and started to rub their temples. They groaned slightly in pain as the other girls started to come too and do the same thing. None of them had opened their eyes yet though, and Harry and Neville were too nervous to say anything. Both of them really hoped that something hadn't gone wrong and they weren't really sure if they could handle if something _had_ gone wrong.

It would be a tense several minutes before any of the girls opened their eyes. They each had to blink away the haze that had settled on their vision and looked around briefly to get their bearings. As they did that though, individual gazes each landed on either Harry or Neville.

As their brains started to catch up with everything, slowly but surely smiles started to form on all the girls faces as they realized that their plan to send their memories had worked out better than they had thought.

"Welcome back ladies," Harry and Neville said at the same time, both a little chocked up at having most of their loves back.

"Harry/ Neville!" the girls cried out as they all stood and rushed to form a group hug one of the boys.

For Neville, Astoria reached him first, followed by Hannah, then Lavender and Parvati. For Harry, it had been a tie between Hermione and Luna first, followed by Daphne, Katie and Tracey, then Susan and Padma. There were tears in all of the girl's eyes as they hug their boys for all they were worth.

Minnie sat quietly in her chair watching the touching scene with a few tears in her own eyes. She had erected a small notice-me-not ward around their area once the girls had started glowing and was quiet glad she had as it wouldn't do for the other students to see what was happening. Briefly she caught Harry's eye, even if it _was_ misty, and he jerked his head, telling her to join them. She smiled at that and got and joined the group hug on him, surprising a few of the girls by her added hug.

It was several minutes before anyone lightened up on the hugs. It was like a signal for the others and soon each of the girls had let go of Harry and Neville.

"So," Hermione began for the group with a slight smirk, "This was some project of yours."

"Yes," Tracey practically purred, "That was quite Slytherine of you Harry."

"A plan worthy of any Ravenclaw as well," Padma added with a smile.

Harry couldn't help chuckle at their points.

"Well it worked didn't it? And you all have your memories back now," Harry said happily. It was weird feeling this giddy again, but quite frankly he didn't care.

Having been able to see these women in limbo had soothed a pain in his chest he hadn't been aware of for quite some time. But now, seeing them now with their memories back and in the real world was filling gaps in his heart that had been ripped away as each of them had died.

Especially seeing Hermione alive and absolutely glowing with emotion again. It was a sight he would never let anyone take from him ever again.

"I'm glad to see all of you ladies are back now," Minnie said for the first time drawing attention o her from everyone, as well as drawing attention from Harry's girls to Neville's and vice versa.

"Wait, your back too Minnie?" Katie asked as it finally struck her that Minnie was actually with them and not trying to figure out what had happened.

"Arguably I am the third person to come back to this time line after Harry and Neville."

"But then… how did you come back? And how did Neville and you other ladies come back as well? Oh pooh that came out badly," Luna asked although she had a confused look at first but a pout replaced that when she realized how coarse it sounded.

The other girls chuckled at her expression briefly, even if they got her sticking her tongue out at them in return.

"It's okay Luna, we know what you meant," Neville said before he went on to explain how he had come back and how he had come back with his loves memories.

"Then how did you come back Minnie? I mean, you weren't with either of our groups, so how and when did you come back?" asked Hannah.

"I honestly have no idea how my memories came back. As for when, um…" Minnie trailed off as a blush erupted on her face as she looked to Harry for help, only to see the same blush on his face. All the girls saw the looks between the two.

"Okay, spill. What happened?" Susan demanded, even though she had a grin on her face.

"Uh, when I came back I claimed my inheritance pretty much right off the bat. Well, once toad monster left. It uh… seems I was mistaken on what exactly my total inheritance was," Harry said sheepishly his blush getting deeper.

He had no idea how to proceed from there though. It wasn't his fault and like he had thought earlier that day, Hermione was likely going to kill him. Well not kill him, but definitely hurt him.

His deepening blush made all the girls focus onto Minnie at that point, which made her blush deepen even more. None of them turned to Neville who's shoulders were shaking slightly as he held back his laughter.

After a minute or so of silence Minnie finally cracked and sighed, even as her blush was still in place. She brought her wand out of her sleeve in her robe and taped the top of her head with the tip, dispelling her glamour. She let out a weak laugh as each and every girl's eyes widened and their mouths hung open in shock as they watched the old professor become young again.

Even Neville's mouth hung open at this point. He already knew Minnie was bound to Harry, but he didn't she had a glamour up of all things.

"Holy shit Min! You're hot!" Lavender spouted instantly but clamped her hands over her mouth as her eyes seemed to widen further as she realized what she had said.

Minnie just gave her a crooked grin as she said, "Why thank you Lavender."

"But… how?" Hermione was still confused even while being stunned.

"Wait, Harry mentioned he got more than he was prepared for when he claimed his inheritance. With the way him and Min were blushing and the way she looks now… would… mean…" Daphne started to say as realization dawned on her exactly _what_ Minnie was. "You came back after he bound you?"

"Very astute Daphne," Minnie said with that same smile, although her blush seemed to reach new heights. The other girls looked to Daphne for more explanation but slowly what Daphne had said started to register in their brains and they were all looking at Minnie in more shock now than they were before. Well all except for Hermione who was getting a little annoyed.

"Would someone please explain to me what I'm missing here?" she asked in a huff.

"Um, Hermione," Harry called, drawing the confused and slightly tearing eyes of Hermione.

"_I guess some of the natural hormones at this age are affecting her like they are me,_" he thought as noticed her about to cry in frustration.

"What the other girls are somewhat shocked into silence about is that, um, apparently in the will of my Grandfather, when I claimed my inheritance, Minnie was apparently a part of that inheritance," Harry said softly, and prayed that he wouldn't end up in a world of hurt.

Hermione's brow furrowed together as she thought about what Harry had said. She was working over all the inheritance laws from when she had worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, especially those concerning humans. She knew the wizarding world was behind the times, but there were a great deal of laws against slavery of another human as if they were property. The only humans that were 'slaves' per say were…

Her eyes snapped open as she finally got what the others had figured out sooner. She turned to Minnie and stuttered, "Y-you're a-a…"

"… a concubine? Yes Hermione I was and am one," Minnie said with a small smile.

"Oh," was all Hermione got out before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted in shock. Harry caught her easily enough and even picked her up in a bridal carry.

"You know, I never figured Hermione would faint from something like that," Parvati commented much to the amusement of the others. They all chuckled, even Neville and Harry.

Minnie just shook her head briefly during her chuckling before reapplying her glamour.

"Well I think we should call it a night at this point. We could all use the sleep to help get all of our memories in order and we can discuss more in a few days, especially on the weekend," Minnie stated, bringing all the attention back to her with her glamour back up and fully in place. "Until we can figure more out however, especially concerning the other ladies, we need to keep up our appearances. All of you ladies must act as you once did until that time."

Everyone nodded as they all understood what she meant. Soon after that, Minnie dispersed the notice-me-not ward, though only after Harry and Neville had said goodnight to the ladies that wouldn't be in Gryffindor tower with them that night. Well, to some extent anyways. Neville kissed and hugged Parvati and Lavender goodnight as they had to leave to keep up their 'Gosip Queen' look for now.

The only people left in a group were Minnie, Katie, Neville, and Harry as Harry carried Hermione with them. Minnie was there to accompany them incase Umbridge or one of her Inquisitorial Squad showed up and harassed the group. It didn't take them long to reach the common room from the Library and thankfully they didn't run into anyone.

After Minnie gave the password she stepped aside as first Neville then Katie stepped through then followed by Harry carrying Hermione. She followed them in noted that thankfully there wasn't anyone down in the room besides Lavender and Parvati who were waiting for Harry to bring Hermione so they could take her up to the girl's dorm room. Katie ended up helping them with the passed out Hermione up the stairs after Harry kissed the two of them goodnight. Once the girls were up the stairs and out of sight, Neville and Harry turned to Minnie who gave offered her own good night to the two of them, though she only kissed Harry, and gave Neville a verbal goodnight before she went to her own living quarters.

Once she had left Neville and Harry made their way slowly to their own dorm.

"You know, I'm not looking forward to being anywhere near the same room with the sleeping buzz saw," Neville said as they got closer to their dorm. They could already hear Ron's snores even through the closed door and twenty feet away.

"No kidding," Harry grumbled as he pushed open the door to their room and cringed as Ron had a brief moment of being even louder than normal. Oh how he would love to just smother the prat and rid the world of this blight on humanity.

A sharp poke in his ribs from behind jerked him away from his darkening thoughts as he squawked in indignation while rounding on Neville.

"Like I said earlier, we'll deal with him later. For now, let's just get some sleep," Neville said with a hard under tone. His look died though as he cringed from another of Ron's obscenely loud snorting snores.

"And don't forget the silencing charms," Neville finished while shaking his head and going to his bed before climbing in and closing the curtains. Harry went to his own bed as well and did the same, applying the silencing charms to the inside of his curtains to block the snores. Divesting himself of his clothes after that and climbing under the covers of a bed he hadn't slept in a very long time brought a smile to his face. It was still as comfortable as he remembered and he fell asleep shortly after with the same grin on his lips as he dreamt of the loves of his life.

**A/N:** Well, there's the new chapter. I had some issues figuring this one out as I had a huge amount of different ideas, especially on how to bring the girls back. Almost all of them came up as a pain to do and would have been far more lengthy and redundant, especially as it would have spanned over several chapters. While it would have been good plot material, I'm not sure doing the same thing over and over again, even if they are different would end up well.

I'll try and get the next chapter out relatively soon, but it may take a little while considering this one turned into a bit of a beast in length. Hope you enjoyed it though as always!


	5. CH4: The Way of Things

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N: ** Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I've been working with a crew from India on a film called "Aparajita." I've written most of this before the production started, but if the end seems to be a bit off, it's because I was writing it when I had some down time.

**Recommended Story: "**Effects and Side Effects" By Pheonix Dawn. I'm not really a fan of the whole Harry turns into a female branch of stories, but there are a few that are decent. For me, this is the best I've found to date and while it moves slowly, mostly due to long space between updates, it has pretty good character development and a great line of events that flow pretty smoothly.

**CHAPTER FOUR: The Way of Things**

**Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Hermione snapped awake and sat up quickly, breathing heavily and looking around frantically inside the drawn curtains of her bed. As her senses came back to her and her brain started its usual rapid fire analysis of everything around her, a small smile started to form on her lips. She was back! It hadn't been some dream of another reality or possible future. She was truly and wholly back in the past with Harry!

Her smile turned into a large grin at the thought of Harry. She could finally be with him again and not suffer the horror that was bloody _Ronald Billius Weasley_. Just thinking about how she had _married_ that man made her shiver and started to ruin her good mood. She promptly squashed any train of thoughts that had anything to do with the red head. No sense ruining a brand new day.

She swung the curtains open and as she tossed her legs over the side of the bed, idly noting she was still in her uniform from yesterday, she looked around the room. It was still mostly dark out with the just barely there morning light starting to shine through the windows. Parvati's bed had her curtains closed and she was snoring softly.

Hermione giggled internally at the sound. It was always a point of amusement for her that one of the more fashion oriented girls in the school snored when she slept, even if it was quietly.

The giggling stopped though as she heard sniffling coming from the other drawn curtains of Lavender Brown's bed. She frowned slightly and quietly padded over to Lavender's bed.

"Lavender?" Hermione called softly. It was weird hearing probably the bubbliest person she had ever met sniffling, especially as she had been returned to the past as well.

The curtain she was standing in front of drew back quickly and Hermione saw that Lavender was sitting up in her bed, eyes puffy and cheeks red and streaked with tears from crying. In her lap was a mirror.

It suddenly hit Hermione like a punch to the gut. Lavender had been scarred horribly during the Battle of Hogwarts when she had been mauled by Greyback. Most everyone thought that she had died of her wounds, including Hermione, when all was said and done, but she had been seen a couple of times in Diagon Alley nearly ten years later, but she had always worn a hood and long sleeves and gloves to cover the scars. Hermione had only ever managed to talk to Lavender once after her ten year absence and she had caught her without the hood then and had been able to see those scars. She had spent so many years worried about her appearance before she got mauled that the scars did more than hurt her physically, and now that she was back, they were no longer there.

She sat down next to the dirty blond and pulled her into a tight hug as the quiet sniffling became quiet sobs. Lavenders shoulders were shaking horribly as she returned the hug with almost crushing desperate force. Hermione had a sad smile as she gently rocked Lavender and rubber her back at the same time. It was the same thing she had done for her daughter whenever she had been distressed. Hell, it had been the same thing her mother had done for her, and was more or less a universal for helping calm anyone who was distressed.

Almost ten minutes passed before Lavender's sobs became sniffling again and she loosened her hug on Hermione but never let go.

"Feel better now?" Hermione asked with a small smile.

"Yea," Lavender replied with her own smile before giving Hermione another brief tight hug then pulling back.

"I guess everything is still a bit surreal isn't it?" Hermione asked.

Lavender nodded before saying, "It is, and I don't think everything has really caught up with us, especially since we aren't all back yet."

Hermione couldn't help but tilt her head to the side in confusion.

Lavender couldn't help herself at how Hermione's face looked and she giggled, which only made Hermione scowl slightly, renewing Lavender's giggles.

"I'm sorry Hermione, but I thought it would have been obvious. I know Harry wouldn't bring back anyone else first besides you, and with his plan from yesterday, he didn't get all of the women that loved him. There were two missing for Neville as well," Lavender explained once her giggles calmed down.

Hermione blinked a couple of times while doing a fish impersonation before she took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm sorry Lavender, I guess I was a bit caught up in being back and being with Harry finally," Hermione said with a sheepish smile.

Lavender just got a bright smile at that and hugged Hermione again. "It's alright Hermione. Your passion about Harry was always something that inspired most of the girls at Hogwarts, and especially those that fell in love with him after… Well, after you were killed."

Lavender's eyes started to mist again then as her eyes glazed over a bit.

"I don't think you really know how much of an effect you had on Harry and the rest of us," Lavender started as her voice started to break a little, "Even with all the things you got into with being friends with Harry, you changed from being overly pushy, to a caring beautiful passionate woman with an intellect and wit to match. While a good portion of the guys in Hogwarts wanted to be like Harry, _every_ girl in Hogwarts wanted to be like you. To those of us who came to know you better as the years went on, and especially with the DA, you were like the sister a lot of us wanted or wished we had. You brought out the best in most everyone you met and inspired countless more, just by being you."

Hermione was floored as Lavender laid _that_ out for her. She knew she had some rather ambitious goals and that at the best of times it grated on people's nerves, but that it also brought about this type of reaction as well was an immense shock and more than a little humbling.

She couldn't even think of anything to say as her own eyes started to tear up a little and was immediately engulfed in yet another hug by Lavender.

It was silent between the two for a couple more minutes as Hermione processed what Lavender had said. She had been hugging Lavender as well after her shock had worn off a bit, and when she finally came back to reality, she had to suppress a giggle. Lavender had fallen asleep on her, exactly like her own children had done in similar positions.

Very gently she laid the blond back down on the bed and pulled the covers back over her. She moved the mirror to her nightstand then pulled the curtains closed again. She smiled at the thought of her putting Lavender to bed. It was very strange, but considering everything she remembered about her, it fit, well at least her old views of Lavender.

Casting a quick _Tempus_ spell she found it was a little after 3 in the morning. She sighed when she saw that as she was fully awake now considering she had been asleep for at least seven hours, more than her normal when she was this age before.

She quickly found her shoes that the girls had removed when putting her to bed last night and put them on. After that she found her book bag as well and pulled out one of her the texts inside. She didn't really need to read anything in there, but just reading anything usually helped her get her thoughts in order, especially since thinking about last night had made her remember why she had passed out in the first place yesterday.

It was something she really had no idea about. She knew what a concubine was, but even in the laws she had read through in her quest to get several laws passed for house elves, the stuff she had found on concubines was not only vague, but the laws seemed ancient. She had dismissed them as just records then and not as actual laws, but she wasn't so sure anymore.

Her head started to hurt a little as she walked down the stairs to the common room thinking about what it meant to be a concubine. But as she reached the bottom, she found it already occupied by a ghastly looking Harry sitting on the couch facing the fire, just staring into the gentle glowing blaze.

Her concern peaked instantly, even as her own being flooded with warmth at seeing him again. The time yesterday after her returning had been so short she hadn't been able to feel how much better she felt just being able to look at him.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry's head turned to her slowly and she found herself entranced by the slightly glowing look in his eyes. It didn't stop her from noting the slightly dark rings around his eyes already, or the slight tightness of his forehead. But upon looking at her, the tightness eased and his entire body seemed to relax more, something she hadn't noticed right off the bat.

"Better now actually," Harry said and motioned for her to sit next to him.

She smiled and quite happily sat next to him on the couch, tucking her legs under her as she leaned into his shoulder. His arm encircled her shoulders and pulled her into him tighter making her close her eyes and her smile to get larger. She felt the rumble in his chest as he chuckled slightly.

"Comfy?" Harry asked in an amused tone.

"Quite. Thanks," Hermione replied primly before giggling softly and snuggling into him more.

They stayed that way for a while after that, just basking in each other's presence. For Harry, Hermione's presence was soothing frayed nerves and healing old scars in his heart; For Hermione, she was overcome with a level of contentedness she had not felt in some time.

It was Hermione that broke the silence first and asked, "Harry, what had you so tense earlier?"

The very question brought back stiffness to his form, but eased quickly as she wrapped an arm around his waist and gripped him tightly.

"A couple of reasons actually, the first being waking up in the same room as Ron," Harry said, and paused briefly as Hermione shivered. He squeezed her shoulders briefly in support after her shiver ended.

"And the other reasons?" Hermione asked, not wanting to talk about Ron, and Harry happily obliged. They both had reasons for not wanting to deal with that can of worms while they were healing.

"The biggest among them is wondering exactly what to do now," Harry said before sighing deeply.

His sigh made Hermione raise herself a bit from his embrace to look at Harry questioningly.

"What do you mean? There are a lot of things we can change now that we are back."

Harry chuckled ruefully at her question.

"First let me ask a question for you Hermione. How much of that time once you died did you spend watching me or in that library that was apparently there? Did you spend any time at all with you parents or other family members?"

Hermione's frown made Harry the confused one this time, especially as he had been expecting at least a small blush at the mention of the library.

"Harry, I didn't see any of my family there on the other side," Hermione said, her confusion clear.

That only made Harry's own confusion worse. "What do you mean? Neville mentioned that he was with his family and loves while he was there."

"I'm not sure Harry. The only people I ever saw were the other women as they showed up and we didn't even really talk much. We didn't need to really. Between watching over you and the reading we all did, it didn't really seem important. Well, not important, it was more like we all understood each other and didn't have a need to. Any thoughts any of us had, the others understood as if they were our own. It was a little strange to be honest, now that I think about it."

Harry chuckled ruefully again at that. "Knowing my luck, that's probably my fault in some way."

Hermione huffed, and opened her mouth to protest his claims. They never made it past her thoughts though as Harry leaned down and kissed her briefly, blanking her immediate protest from her thoughts. When he broke the kiss, she had a small smile and her eyes were glazed as she enjoyed the lingering feeling of his lips on hers.

"Regardless of whatever discrepancies the afterlife had, the point I was going for was that you were able to be with other people there. I think a better example would be looking at how Neville was in the afterlife. He had all of his loves and the entirety of his family with him. He could probably do anything he wanted, but the fact remains that he was with his family," Harry started, and it was there that his own eyes glazed over as they gained a far look in them. "I spent a very long time alone Hermione. I came to understand that immortality is a dreadful curse if you are alone. And because of the loneliness, I longed for death so I could be with my family and loves so desperately, that coming back seems almost like a dream. Seeing you and the others made a good deal of the pain go away, but there is a part of me that still longs to be able to see my ancestors, to talk with them and trade stories of our times alive. There's a part of me that wants to be able to hear my mum and dad's voices again without their spirits being called by a Hallow. And most of all, there's a small place in my heart that yearns to just be hugged by my mum."

Tears were streaming down Harry's face by this point as his shoulders shook slightly. Hermione had a few tears running down her cheeks as well and had moved by the time he had finished speaking to be sitting in his lap, her legs stretched across the couch. She had her arms around his neck and shoulders with his head burring into the nape of her neck, and her fingers were running through his hair softly.

They stayed that way for almost ten minutes with the only other sound being the crackling of the fire. Harry's sobs were muffled by Hermione's body as she held onto him tightly until they eventually died out into just tears and small sniffles.

When they did finally, Harry couldn't help but chuckled morosely.

"Even with having had time to bring back all my mental barriers to their max, I can't block of the effects of going through puberty again. I apologize now if I turn into a ranting and raving angst ridden teenager again Hermione," Harry said with a crooked grin as he pulled back slightly from Hermione's hold.

Hermione gained an almost identical grin at Harry's statement and replied, "I'd apologize for any random bouts of emotions as well, but I have a logical excuse for turning into a terror at least once a month."

Harry gaped at her for a few seconds at her ribbing and started to chuckle. The chuckles turned into a small laugh, which then became a full on belly tightening, soul cleansing laugh. Hermione's own laughing joined his in short order and not long after, they were both back to being silent, with Hermione having decided to stay in her new spot and cuddle with Harry more.

After several more minutes, Harry was the one to break the silence this time.

"So, now that we've gotten my hormonal teenage moment out of the way for today at least, what has you up so early Hermione?" Harry questioned.

"I just woke up. Granted I thought this was all some elaborate dream until everything started to come back to me. A cliché way of waking up and remembering your past if you ask me but that's how I woke up. As for why I came down here, I was trying to sort out how… um… Professor McGonagall was…err _is_… a concubine," Hermione said with a slight blush. Harry wasn't doing much better as his cheeks had reddened as well.

"Well, I can't tell you exactly _how_ she first became one, well not the reasons for why anyways, as that was between her and my grandfather Charlus Potter," Harry started but stopped as Hermione had started and stared at Harry in confusion.

"What does your grandfather have to do with this?" Hermione asked.

Harry's brows furrowed again trying to figure out why Hermione at least knew of concubines, but not how they came about. It wasn't long before the answer dawned on him and he wanted to slap his forehead for forgetting. The laws dealing with concubines were rather obscure, and the only reason he even knew about them as much as he did was because Minnie had told him as such during the first time line.

He had always wondered how she knew as much as she did about that bond, and then along with the bonds that developed between him and his loves, especially as they had never really come up in his primary research into the study of the nature of magic. It wasn't like he hadn't studied bonds in general, but the information Minnie had laid out before him was from someone who had had personal experience with a good portion of them, or been around them and had them explained to them in the same manner as she explained them to him. The Unspeakables only had in depth knowledge on bonds relating to oaths, discounting the ones from marriage, and only passing knowledge on the rest as it was rather… well intimate and was one of those few things that was taught in families and was assumed everyone knew.

"It might be better to explain this if you let me know what you learned in the afterlife, since you mentioned a library. Specifically anything related to bonds and magic," Harry stated once his brain exited its review mode.

Hermione's brow scrunched up in thought as she started to nibble on her lower lip. "It was really strange while reading there Harry. Everything there was more like theory as there was no reason to try anything practical. Well, minus the whole unraveling time thing with you coming back with our memories. All of us understood that that would happen and was fact and not theory. For bonds though… I never went looking for anything past the ones for marriage, especially after… well…"

Harry pulled Hermione to him tightly at the end of her answer, again already knowing her disdain for anything related to Ron.

"I guess I'll have to tell you what Minnie told me then," Harry said softly, and then chuckled slightly at Hermione's offended look. "It's kind of hard to call her Professor McGonagall after everything we went through in the first time line and then when… uh… I had to bind her to me. You'll understand better when I can at least explain the concubine bond."

Harry was blushing furiously at that, especially as Hermione's expression had gone briefly into outrage. In his mind's eye, he could still see her hurting him in some elaborate ways for what he was about to tell her about her favorite professor. It would only get worse considering for all intents and purposes he 'owned' her as well.

"You better Harry James Potter, or I'll hex you into oblivion!" Hermione threatened. It was half hearted all things considered since he _had_ brought her back from the dead and it would be rather pointless to kill him.

"Well a concubine bond is bit of ancient magic to start off. It's something that has no real inception date as far as being 'created' as it's apparently always been around. A Concubine Bond is an absolute last resort form of payment for either a Life Debt or a Debt of Honor. A life debt is pretty self explanatory, though it does have a few levels of intensity. Take for example our first year, me jumping on that troll's back incurred what would be a mild intensity life debt since it was at least high risk, but I wasn't the one to truly stop the troll. If I had been the one to stop it, it would have incurred a high intensity one. A similar intensity would be when I cast my Patronus in the third year to stop us having our souls consumed and destroyed inside those Dementors. The only thing past that level of intensity is what would incur the possibility for a Concubine Bond. I'm not entirely sure as to all the exact details on how something is worse than having your soul sucked out and destroyed, and the only thing I could come up with is having your very essence and existence wiped from the existence of the universe."

Harry paused briefly to lick his lips and adjust Hermione on his lap slightly as one of his legs was starting to fall asleep. Hermione didn't even notice as her attention was focused entirely on what he was saying.

"A Debt of Honor is similar in nature to a life debt, at least in levels of intensity, but they are all based around magical contractual agreements between two parties. These contracts are always written and signed in blood. Their different from normal magical contracts as the only decent ones are written in ink and signed in blood. The ones written and signed in ink tend to be fairly weak magically, and that also describes why the intensity is different now that I think about it. This one I actually do know as the only Debt of Honor that can force a Concubine Bond is when a person is trying to rebuild their family and keep their name and they break a contract written and signed in blood by trying to kill off or take over the entirety of the individuals' family to make it their own. It's probably the worst form of punishment for a contracted marriage, and thankfully was actually outlawed as being a part of contract marriages a long time ago."

"As for the magic of the bond itself, it truly is for all intents and purposes a slave bond, especially as the magic only works on witches. Why it's only a one way street in that regards I truly have no idea, but considering that whatever origins it has are before any form of recorded history, my guess it has something to do with whatever the primal instinct is with procreation back when humanity first came into being. Any who, for the bond to establish itself the wizard whom the witch owes the debt to must call in the debt once it is known to both the wizard and witch that the witch has no known way to repay the wizard. Both the witch and the wizard actually have to be completely free from any influence what so ever as well otherwise the magic of the bond won't take hold, so in at least some weird way, magic itself enforces some semblance of consent."

"And the part where that payment is entirely of the flesh and they become sex toys is because…?" Hermione asked, making Harry blush furiously.

"That's where I find the bond is strange. I know that a concubine can change their bond from a Concubine Bond to a Consort Bond by eventually conceiving a child with their 'master' and falling in love with said 'master' free from any influence. That's something that I think would be hard to achieve considering in order to form the bond, you have to force the witch to first give you a blow job and then have sex with her that causes a sort of submissive nature to form in the witch. Past that though, should a concubine not have a child with her master and change her bond, she remains a concubine until her bond changes to that of a consort. If their master dies before that, or for some ungodly reason decides to 'sell' them, the witch can be transferred to another wizard. I believe that's where the laws you know about concubines come in as the selling of them is thankfully illegal, and probably the only law on the books that is enforced with extreme prejudice since the 'purebloods' are terrified of having the entirety of their estates taken from them and given to whoever would be deemed a good 'master' for the concubine."

"The strange part about the bond transferring though is that there is a loophole in the magic if a concubine is willed to another individual. Normally a concubine would have to be rebound within a month after her master died, but if the individual they are willed to is far too young to accomplish the tasks of creating the bond, the concubine enters a sort of limbo. In that limbo, any form of life debt can apparently force the bond to be transferred to a person they are not willed to, not to mention the person claiming the life debt must have already known somehow the witch in question was already a concubine which apparently happened to Minnie in the first time line with _Slughorn_ of all people. That's all I really know about a concubine bond, at least for now. Minnie never really went further into detail about it than that when she was describing the depths of marriages bonds to me the first time around."

"So you didn't force this on her then?" Hermione asked, more so just for simplistic clarification than anything else.

"I would never dream of forcing something like that on Minnie. I have entirely too much respect for the woman she is. On top of that, I know you'd kill me if I had done something like that to her, and seeing as how we _just_ came back from the future I want to spend as much time in the realm of the living with you and the other ladies as much as I can," Harry said, trying to bring some humor to ease the situation.

At Hermione's deadpanned look, but with the edges of her mouth twitching, he knew he had succeeded at least somewhat. The two fell back into a comfortable silence after that, both lost in the feelings from being held by the other. Neither of them noticed the odd ring Harry still wasn't sure about glow for several seconds before stopping.

The sun had just started to peak through the windows when they were joined by a slightly lumbering Neville. His face had the same ghastly expression as Harry's had when Hermione came down and he promptly flopped into one of the other couches. Harry and Hermione started slightly as they hadn't noticed him come down, but they definitely heard him sitting in the couch, along with a slight groan that followed it several moments later.

Hermione was a little confused on his expression and groan, but Harry tried to hold back the chuckle that was bubbling in his chest. It didn't last and the noise of his chuckle brought Neville to bring his head forward, which had been leaning back against the couch, to glare at him.

"Silencing Charm lost effect?" Harry asked with a bemused expression.

Hermione's face took on a look of recognition for what he was referring to, before it quickly darkened, and Neville's went from a glare to a flinch and pained one.

"Yea, I didn't think it would have worn off though, especially with how we cast spells now. I tried to put it back up once I woke up the first time, by my control is so wonky I gave up after the fifth time it broke and decided to come down here. I figured I'd go through my Occulmency and get those set up before we start classes again," Neville responded as his shoulders slumped slightly.

Harry just chuckled a little and said, "Have fun with that mate."

Neville just shot him a dirty look before shifting in his seat to be more comfortable and relaxing into a meditative state.

Hermione looked between the two a little lost. Harry couldn't help but chuckle again at her expression before leaning down and kissing her slightly.

"Neville has had as much problems with Occulmency as I've had. Once our shields were set up, our subconscious takes hold and micromanages them, but getting it to that state is royal pain, and with coming back and the ritual we did to fix a lot of the crap that was wrong with our bodies, our control is more or less shot at the moment," Harry explained when he had leaned back from the kiss.

Hermione just got an 'oh' expression on her face again before relaxing into Harry again. As she moved though, Harry's faced winced slightly as her body weight shifted.

"Uh, Hermione, as much as I love having you in my lap and holding you I think my leg fell asleep and is now trying to wake up," Harry said with both a grimace and amused tone.

Hermione faced him briefly and blinked a few time before his words dawned on her and grinned sheepishly as she stood up. Harry gave her a grin in thanks as he rubbed his legs to try and get the feeling back into them. When the prickling sensation had dulled, he stood up alongside Hermione and took her in his arms again, lavishing her with another gentle but passionate kiss.

"Now that's a sight to walk in on in the morning," an amused voice startled the two and they turned their heads towards the voice. What they saw was the already dressed and smirking face of Katie Bell.

Harry and Hermione blushed slightly as Harry moved his right hand from holding Hermione to scratch at the back of his head slightly while he chuckled. Katie just chuckled as well as she walked up to the two and was soon enveloped in a three way hug before she too was kissed by Harry.

"Good morning to you too," Katie said once the kiss had broke and she had gained her breath back. Harry just gave her a slightly impish grin.

"Morning Katie, I take it you slept well?" Harry asked.

"Sort of. It was a little weird waking up here again, and seeing Leanne alive and breathing as well," Katie replied, a slightly haunted look flashing through her eyes.

Harry just tightened his hold on her with his one arm while Hermione did the same.

"She won't end up like she did last time Katie, we'll make sure of that," Harry said and kissed her forehead. Katie's eyes had started to get a little misty at the comfort from the two and she had held them tighter.

"I know Harry, it's just going to be little hard for a while being able to see everyone alive again," Katie said softly.

Harry just held her tighter as his thoughts turned dark. It was something he was looking forward to, changing all the bad things that had happened to his family. Just thinking about the cause of all the suffering they had to endure brought back the raging inferno in his chest and he absently felt the charge of the air again.

The charge dispersed almost as quickly as it came however as he felt a strong hand clamp down on his shoulder and the familiar deep voice of Neville say, "Harry, calm down."

Harry and the two girls turned to look at Neville, his eyes glowing that amber color again as he maintained his hold on Harry, even though the charge of magic in the air had faded instantly. Harry knew his own eyes were glowing again but faded as did the dark thoughts in his head. He nodded to Neville in thanks before turning back to the girls.

"We should probably go get ready for the day, well several days really and try and get re-acquainted with the school and everyone here. Like Min suggest yesterday, we'll need to sit down as a group and figure out where to go from here," Harry said softly before kissing the two girls briefly.

He broke from the three way hug then, and nodded to Neville briefly before taking a deep breath and heading back up to his dormitory to get ready for the day, and hopefully keep his temper reigned in while up there.

**Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Transfiguration Classroom**

**Time: Saturday May 4, 1996; 9:35AM**

Harry sighed as he entered into Minnie's classroom the first weekend after coming back in time. To say the past several days had been difficult was an extreme understatement. Like he had told Hermione that first morning from being back, it was hard being around people again after having been isolated for a long a he had. Then there was the fact the control he had on his magic was still not up to where he had it before and it cause a couple of amusing but annoying accidents to happen in several of his classes.

Thankfully it was a bit expected when practicing new spells, especially as the spells in charms and transfiguration were becoming slightly more complex. Thankfully the lack of control didn't affect either Harry or Neville when they had their exams with the Arithemancy and Runes professors. Their reactions to the placement tests was hysterical to the two as the two women had confirmed they would be part of the class the next year and would pass the OWL exams with ease. The two women were practically salivating after Harry and Neville had given brief verbal discussions on the theories they had worked out and couldn't wait to have them in their class and work with them to 'further their theories' along. The two boys had barely managed to keep their laughing in check at that.

The hardest part for them all though was acting as they had in the first time line. Knowing what they knew now though, it was extremely hard. There had already been a few occasions where their friends had noted the changes but just passed it off as dealing with Umbridge trying to run the school. Harry had remembered her mere presence had left its mark on a number of people and not for the better, so he was quite happily planning on dealing with her. Well her and others, but that could wait until everyone joined him in the transfiguration class room to discuss where they would try and make things go from there.

Looking around the room he briefly waved his wand and made the desks rearrange to be a circle. He grinned slightly as the desks moved rapidly. His control was coming back by leaps and bounds as he had to constantly clamp down on the urge to remove people from existence when they got on his nerves. With Ron, Draco, and Umbridge around, not to mention the other people in the various years that had turned to the Death Eaters he had to keep his reaction clamped almost constantly.

Right now though was the first time he had to unwind, minus the brief times between classes that he had to give some attention to his ladies. All of them had to be discrete to the utmost extreme to not give anything away, and even if it had only been several days, they were all ready to figure out how to deal with where to go.

Idly he transfigured the backs and seats of the chairs to have cushions and to have neck support before choosing one and sitting down. Leaning back into his chosen chair, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as he let a lot of the tension in his body and the control he had on his magic unwind.

He did this several times while he waited and his mind began to drift. Well it wasn't so much of drifting as he was as Snape would have said 'clearing his mind.' It was a step towards building decent mental shields normally but for Harry, this was to force his body to relax as his subconscious took over all processing. He had been thankful when he had gotten his shields back to full power as it helped with processing everything he was taking in day to day. It wasn't as much as he had to deal with before he had come back as thankfully all of that information was part of his normal psyche. The problems lately had been that all of the memories of his ladies were still in his head.

He had asked the girls that were already back if they wanted him to remove them entirely as the method to restore them had only been copies as he hadn't been expecting them to come back completely. He wasn't entirely sure how they had come back completely as he had assumed it would be their younger selves with the vast memories and feelings that had been in the spheres. Not that he was complaining, but it _was_ what had made him ask about the memories he still had. They had all replied with no, well those who had their memories back so far, and he had been processing those memories constantly.

At this exact moment though, as he was clearing his mind he was reaching out to sense the magic around him as his own unwound, he was able to feel the magic of the ancient school. A stray thought cause him to mentally chuckle as he thought that technically, the school would be considered a child to how old his mind was. But even as he sensed the magic around the school, and the various amounts of magic being used by the beings throughout the castle, he felt a bit melancholic as he did have an attachment to the school.

Harry wasn't sure how long he had been relaxing his body but was brought back to reality by a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and his head jerked to see the owner of the hand while the air that was saturated with his magic charged and it felt like the pressure in the room skyrocketed. He really couldn't help the reaction as he _had_ been startled from being relaxed. Add into it further that he didn't recognize the presence that had startled him.

Not entirely anyways. It felt familiar but it wasn't one of his loves as he stared at a very started and breathing heavily girl from Hufflepuff, as the crest on her robes clearly shown which house she was in.

Seeing her pupils dilate and her breathing start to become more erratic, he pulled his presence back in an instant and the pressure vanished just as quickly.

"What… what was that?" the girl asked as she stumbled slightly from the sudden shifts in pressure in the room. She looked slightly delirious and about to fall over, and as she started to stumble more, Harry moved quickly to push his seat back and catch her as she start to fall towards the table.

It really wasn't necessary as she caught herself with her arms, but Harry still had a hand on her stomach and his other around the back side of her waist.

"Sorry about that. I don't take being startled very well," Harry said before blinking at his own response. He didn't know this girl at all and he had given her a truthful statement. Even if it wasn't the full truth, it was more than he had said to anyone who hadn't been brought back yet.

"That's okay. I think," the girl said before noticing where Harry's hands were and blushing furiously. "Um, can you let me go now? I'm fine."

"Sorry," Harry replied sheepishly as he removed his hands and took a step back from her.

It was then he took in the rest of her appearance idly as she took several deep breaths and tried to control her blush. She had black hair running to just about her shoulder blades, brown eyes, and a slightly pale complexion which made her blush harder to fade. As he stared at her though, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity with her, but he had no recollection of her what so ever.

Well that wasn't entirely true. As he worked through his previous memories, he recalled seeing her around the school when he was a student the last time, but never interacted with her. He could recall her being around through every year, minus the last year as he wasn't there. Yet he couldn't recall her being at the school the final year, at least not in the final battle when he was in the great hall.

Harry frowned mentally as that meant that she was probably one of the many people lost during the horrendous Muggle Born Registration Act that happened. Just the mere thought of it made his hackles rise though thankfully not as much as other things so he controlled his normal reaction to something he disliked.

"Um… is there a reason you're starring at me?" the girl asked suddenly as she shifted from foot to foot under his intense stare.

It was enough to jog Harry from his thoughts and he noticed that while her previous blush had diminished, her cheeks were still slightly pink. On top of that, she was extremely shy, but thankfully had enough confidence to have spoken to him clearly to snap him from his thoughts.

"Again, sorry. I didn't mean to stare," Harry said softly, trying to ease the girl out of being nervous.

"It's alright, it's… It's just a little unnerving being stared at like you're some sort of puzzle," the girl said as she relaxed some. She relaxed more as Harry chuckled at her statement.

"I most definitely know the feeling," Harry said ruefully before reaching out his right hand, "I'm Harry."

"Clarice," the girl said with a slight smile as she reached out and shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Clarice. I'm guessing you were looking for Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, I had some question about the assignment she gave us for the weekend. I was trying to catch her early as I didn't want to impose on you fifth years doing your OWLs if she was helping you with your studies. I guess I wasn't early enough though…" Clarice said as she trailed off near the end.

"Nope, you were early enough. I just have a thing for showing up early to things. Well, things I actually enjoy I should say. I could try and help you out if you want?" Harry offered.

"Thanks," Clarice said with obvious relief before looking around her feet for her bag. She had obviously dropped it when she had been startled by Harry's reaction to being startled and had kicked it over when she had started to fall as well.

"Oh bother," she mumbled as she got down on her knees to pick up the books that had spilled out of her bags, as well as the parchment. Some of the ink that she had apparently been carrying around as well had spilled and gotten on both, hence her statement.

"Here, let me help," Harry said as he knelt next to her and start to collect some of the books and parchment from the floor and her bag, placing them on the table as he grabbed them. After a couple seconds, Clarice had put the ones she had grabbed as well on the table, as well as the ink bottle.

Harry pulled out his wand and idly flicked it towards the gathered items. All of the spilt ink pulled itself from the books, parchment, and bag and flowed back into the bottle, including the few splatters on Clarice's and his hands. With another flick, the parchments and books stacked themselves before floating back into the bag. One more flick and the bag had a feather-light charm on it. The last had been because the amount of books and parchments the girl was similar to Hermione's, which made him chuckle slightly.

His chuckle drew a curious look from Clarice, though it did have a slight awed look as well since he hadn't said anything when casting the spells. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"The amount of books you have reminds me of one of someone I care about very much. She has a bit of a habit for carrying a rather astounding amount of books," Harry said while with a smile. Thinking of Hermione in her youth always made him smile.

"Ah yes. Hermione Granger. She's set the bar a bit high for anyone to follow," Clarice said with a small smile, which turned Harry's smile into a cheeky grin.

"That she does, but it's who she is and I wouldn't have her any other way," Harry said happily. "So what exactly do you need help with now that your books and parchment are fixed?"

Clarice then started in on a Hermione worthy description of what the assignment was and what she was having problems with. Harry listened intently and was in a little bit of awe at how well this Hufflepuff described the assignment and her problems in detail. He did idly note that she was a fourth year though from the level of transfiguration she was describing.

Her problem had been simple enough for him though when she had finally finished describing her theories of her problem. She had gotten the mental image down to almost perfect detail, and she had plenty of power to change it, but her problem lay in her intent he realized. It was one of the first animal to inanimate object transfigurations that she had to do and she didn't want to harm the animal. It took him several minutes once he realized that was her problem to discuss it with her and to let her know that after she had turned her assignment in, Professor McGonagall would turn the animal back to its original form.

He wisely left out that the smaller animals that her year was currently using, which were usually mice, were fed to the owls in the Owlery after being turned back.

"Thanks for the help Harry. That assignment makes a lot more sense now," Clarice said with a bright smile as she put her assignment back into her bag.

"Don't mention it. It was nice helping out," Harry said with a grin as he stood and held a hand out to help her up. Clarice gladly took it as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

As she stood though, she got caught up in staring at Harry's eyes. Even when she let go of Harry's hands, her head tilted to the side slightly but didn't stop staring at his eyes, even as he looked over at the doors briefly before looking back to Clarice.

Noting her curious and rather intense staring, he teased, "Now who's the one starring?"

"Didn't you used to wear glasses?" Clarice asked.

Harry blinked before he reached up to his face and noticed that the pair he normally wore weren't there. He had forgotten to put them on again after he had placed them in his pocket after breakfast while he had come to the room. He and the others had decided to gather after breakfast, but he had left early as he had needed to unwind a bit before he blew their cover before they could all talk as a group.

Internally he swore, as it was a very small mistake, but one that was noticeable that anyone that decided to pay attention to any sort of detail. With that, he decided to lie through his teeth.

"Contacts, I just don't normally wear them because they are a bit of pain."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense. I'm guessing you didn't get those new ones that change your eye color too then?"

Harry just raised an eyebrow at that as he had no answer for her without blowing his lie out of proportions. He knew very little of contact lenses as he had always used glasses until the first restoration ritual. Of course he had known of them from having looked them up briefly, but beyond knowing they existed he didn't know much.

Noting his silence, Clarice just sighed before spreading her left eye and reaching up with her other hand and gently removing the contact lens there. She had tilted her head down slightly to do that and when she had raised her head back up, Harry's breath got caught in his throat and his other eyebrow to rise in shock.

Staring back at him was an emerald eye similar to his own, though not as intense as his were now from the ritual. A million possibilities worked through his mind instantly, none of them actually good. One question though bubbled to the tip of his tongue instantly.

"Why do you hide your original eye color?"

Clarice's small smile faded as she looked down and to the left.

"I was trying to fit in with the other kids where I grew up. They always teased me about my eyes since they stood out so much on top of blaming me for everything else that happened around the orphanage. Things didn't really change much when I came here, at least back with the other kids. They just make fun of me for being sent to a 'special' school with everything else," she said in almost a whisper.

Harry had to bite his tongue and squish the sudden spike of anger that sparked in him hearing that. That Clarice was apparently in an orphanage was part of countless scenarios still running through his head and it didn't bode well for the rest of the scenarios that followed that fact.

Very gently he placed a hand on her shoulder, which drew here stare back up to his face. It was a little weird seeing her have one emerald and one brown eye, but it didn't affect what he wanted to say.

"I know what it's like trying to fit in with people who don't understand you," he started softly, "That's part of the reason why I don't take being startled very well. I've always tried to just be normal; to be 'just Harry' with everyone I met, and it's bloody hard in the magical world to do that with the Boy-Who-Lived crap hanging over my head. It is even harder still with living up to my father's and mother's names."

"At least you know who they are though," Clarice said somewhat morosely as she put her contact back in so she didn't lose it.

Harry chuckled sadly and pulled a suddenly surprised Clarice into a hug after her contact was back in. Well, he was surprised as well as he barely knew Clarice, but he felt a pull to comfort her, especially after he had mentioned his parents.

"I might know who they are, but not who they were. I honestly don't know much about them and that bugs me more than people know. The only things I really know are that my dad was a prankster, great at transfiguration, was a chaser for Gryffindor, and became an Auror while my mom was good at charms and potions, had a sharp wit and a bit of a temper, and that I apparently have her eyes," Harry said sadly as he held Clarice to him, and as she was shorter than him, he missed the content smile that appeared on her face as she snaked her arms around his waist to hug him back while she closed her eyes as well. She couldn't describe why but she felt protected and safe in his hug.

"I understand what it means to be an orphan Clarice," Harry said as he pulled back from the hug but left his hands resting on her shoulders. "It is one of the hardest things to deal with, especially when surrounded by people who still have family members that love and care for them."

Harry's eyes had gotten a little misty at his words. It was the main reason why what had happened to him in the first time line had hurt so much. That people he had considered family had manipulated his want to be part of a large family to further their own and another person's ends was unforgivable on too many levels.

Clarice could only nod as she suppressed her own tears because she didn't trust her voice. It was silent between them after that for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. In that time, both managed to get their emotions under control, though Clarice a bit more so as she had torn her sight from staring at Harry to look at the floor. When she looked up again, she gave him another small smile before engulfing him in a quick embrace.

"Thanks again Harry," she whispered into his chest before darting out of the room, leaving Harry there starring after her as she left.

She almost ran into Tracey, Daphne, Susan, and Hannah as she left which caused the four girls to stare after her as well as she quickly disappeared around a corner.

As one they all turned back to look at Harry as he slumped back into his seat.

"Something we should know about Harry?" Tracey asked in a slightly teasing tone.

"I'm not sure," Harry said as he sighed. "Hannah, Susan, do either of you know much about a fourth year 'puff named Clarice?"

Both Susan and Hannah looked at each other briefly before turning back to Harry.

"Just a little bit as she's pretty quiet, even for a 'puff. Black hair, brown eyes, usually stays by herself most of the time unless someone asks for help with something. She's friendly enough when she talks but she doesn't really start conversations with anyone," Hannah said recalling all her memories of the girl.

"That's basically all I remember about her as well," Susan said as well.

"Well I just found out her eye color isn't brown, she wears contacts to hide her eye color. Do you know her last name?" Harry asked.

"Uh, let me think. It was something German if I remember correctly," Hannah said as she and the other girls took seats around the table while she thought. "It begins with a K, Kri or Kru… I can't really remember."

Harry felt a chill start down his spine when he heard 'kru' mentioned with it being German.

"_Krueger?_" he offered.

"That's it!" Hannah said with a happy smile and a snap of her fingers.

Her smile vanished as Harry's face hardened and the air in the room charged again.

"Harry…?" Tracey questioned in concern as she was sitting in the seat Clarice had been in right next to him.

"We need the others here especially Minnie if what I think has happened has occurred. If that's the case, then we need to factor this new problem into our plan," Harry all but growled, the only thing stopping it from being a growl being Tracey's hand on his shoulder.

He didn't offer more information after that until the other people arrived, which took another fifteen minutes. All of the girls and Neville were concerned the second they entered and noticed Harry trying desperately to keep his magic and temper under control. Hermione took the seat on the side opposite of Tracey when she saw how angry he was getting. Thankfully her presence helped calm him somewhat and the charge in the air vanished, but the slight pressure from his presence was still there.

"Harry, what has you so worked up?" Neville asked when the charge had disappeared.

It took about a minute with several long drawn out breaths for Harry to respond.

"On top of everything else we know from the first time line that is messed up and want to fix, we have a new problem to add to it," Harry started, "We already knew the information we had after we all came together wasn't complete, but there's something we that has just as high a priority as dealing with Snake face and the old man. Before any of you got here, I ended up meeting a fourth year 'puff that wanted to meet with Min for some help on her assignment. That wasn't a problem as I was able to help her out. The problem was what I learned after that." 

"I'm guessing you mean Clarice, Harry? She's one of the few students who will actually come to me when she is having issues on her assignments instead of asking for help from her housemates like most of her house does. But what did you learn after you had helped her?" Minnie asked.

"First, that she wore contacts that changed her eye color to brown instead of being the exact same as mine. Second, that she was an orphan who apparently still lived at the orphanage she grew up at. And third, and probably the most important, her last name," Harry answered tightly. He was trying very hard to keep his anger down as his mind was supplying the likely scenario that had happened to Clarice.

"Her last name is Krueger though, how is that the most important?" Susan asked as it had been bugging her since Hannah had confirmed the suggested name from Harry.

"Not to be cryptic, but it's a German family name. What does it mean when it's translated to English?"

The others looked to be lost in thought for a brief amount of time before a soft gasp drew everyone's attention to Luna, whose eyes were much larger than her normal spacey façade.

"_Potter_," she whispered in shock and horror, "Krueger means _Potter_ in German. But that would mean…"

"That our _wonderful_ Headmaster has done far worse than what we already know," Neville all but growled as the entire had a somewhat simultaneous epiphany at what Clarice's last name likely meant. On Neville's part though, he was now just as angry as Harry was and was having the same problem as his friend as he tried to keep his power in check.

One person though, while shocked that Harry apparently had an unknown younger sister that _no one_ had known about in the first time line, was a little confused with what Neville meant about Dumbledore. That person was Hermione and though she already knew he couldn't be trusted for what he had done in contribution to controlling her life, the sheer venom from Neville's voice spoke of greater transgressions. Thinking back on it, she noted that Harry's reaction to the Headmaster's presence in Limbo had been beyond extreme as well, even though she knew he deserved it.

"I know the old coot has caused a lot of problems, but what do you mean by far worse?" Hermione questioned.

One by one all eyes turned to her in somewhat disbelief.

"You mean you don't know what that _bastard_ did beyond what happened to you?" Parvati asked.

Hermione shook her head in response before answering, "I know he did some pretty bad things, but I don't know the whole story. I never really thought about it too much after I died. I just wanted to see Harry again."

Her words made Harry's anger disappear instantly and he threaded his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"And that's partially why we are all gathered here right now," Tracey said, "We need to figure out how we are going to stop everything that had been made so wrong not only to us, but to others as well. I guess a good overview will help you Hermione as we spent years putting all the pieces of information we had together about the atrocities of Albus bloody Dumbledore."

She paused briefly and looked at the others getting nods from everyone, more or less designating her as spokesperson to tell their stories. Well most of them since the other girls who hadn't been brought back yet weren't there. Plus she was the least damaged by Albus' manipulations to her life, at least relatively speaking.

"I guess I'll start with the ones who aren't here. For Pansy, she spent most of her time at Hogwarts keeping her family in as much of a neutral setting as possible. After the final battle, she didn't just vanish into obscurity like most of us thought. The Malfoy males ended up kidnapping her and kept her in the dungeons of his house to _use_ as they saw fit after they made sure her father and mother were killed off. She had one brief moment of freedom from one of them forgetting to keep her locked not only in chains, but in their dungeons as well. She had made it to wear Astoria and Narcissa would be able to hear of the plan that caused the Hogwarts Slaughter. They caught her trying to break out of the house when Astoria and Narcissa had left, and brought her with them as they pursued the other girls. They cut off her hands and feet and left her to bleed to death in one of the green houses as they went to go after Minnie."

"With Su Li, Dumbledore coerced her father to force an arranged marriage with a family here in Britain. What he had left out was that the family he had suggested, which Su's father accepted and set the marriage up with, were the cousins of the Carrows siblings. They weren't as bad as those two are, but close enough. She ended up being abused constantly and was more or less a servant due to the punishments of the contract if she broke it."

"Tonks was fed a love potion after Molly made an accident when trying to get Bill away from Fleur, and ended up dosing Remus instead. Before that though, Dumbledore had been the one to tip off Druella and Cygnus Black of Andromeda eloping with Ted Tonks. From that, while they couldn't directly disown Andromeda, they somehow managed convince Arcturus that any of Andy's children born to her line were not part of the Black family. Past that, he let the potions Molly had slipped her and Remus run their course before ensnaring them in a Compulsion to run into fights recklessly to hopefully get themselves killed, which you already know succeeded."

"Narcissa and Cho are close together in what happened to them. For Cho, in her seventh ye she was fed another love potion and hit with slow acting compulsion charms to make her fall in love with a muggle that makes a good deal of the Death Eaters seem tame. He was abusive to almost fatal levels, raped her constantly, and forced her to please whatever friends he had over as well. Narcissa's was similar in that she was forced into an arranged marriage with Lucius by her parents, and while Lucius never raped her, at least past conceiving that stain that is Draco, he punished her with liberal use of the Cruciatus whenever he was displeased. He treated her only slightly better than a house elf as he had to make sure that she was still presentable to the populace. The only reason she had had such an attachment to Draco and Lucius initially was because of how conditioned she had been after having been under the torture curse for at least ten years."

"Then you get into the people who have already been brought back. For me, I was forced into a marriage with Theodore Nott. He was a stereotypical pureblood male and made my life hell. The only thing that I was thankful for was that he was a wimp when it came to magic and couldn't cast the torture curse on me. Hannah thankfully had a good marriage with Neville, which thankfully came naturally, but Dumbledore was the cause for both of her parent's deaths in both wars as he told Snape to get Riddle to focus on them. With Lavender, the whole nightmare of our sixth year was another potion hell. After the war though, there had been a clause that somehow got into the Wizengamot that made anyone that had been injured by a werewolf, even if they didn't get bit, were considered werewolves themselves. Bill didn't get hazed due to his association with Gringots and being a Weasley. Daphne ended up in an arranged marriage as well with Goyle of all people. Needless to say, that should be enough said. Astoria you already know ended up with Draco and was similar to Narcissa in her situation, though Draco wasn't as vicious with her since they were under constant scrutiny after the final battle until the Hogwarts Massacre."

"Padma and Parvati had it amongst the worst as well. Their father was… _is_… currently being forced to sell his daughters into a marriage outside of Britain. It won't truly be a marriage as it's more of the Harems during the Persian conquest days where they more or less became whores that were little more than slaves. They ended up getting sold off somehow into a muggle black market women trafficking ring which ended up being worse."

"Susan and Katie thankfully didn't have anything done to them via potions or spells. However, that necklace that Draco forced Katie to bring into the school had some pretty bad side effects. It had a long time compulsion on it to find it again and give it to someone you cared about, but also would obscure the fact you came in contact with it before. Eventually she gave it to Lee Jordan to give as a gift to Leanne Tinker, who he had married, and it ended up killing them both as Lee grabbed it to remove it from Leanne after it the curse had started. For Susan, we learned that it was Dumbledore that told Snape to give up her Uncle Edgar's and his family's location to Voldemort, as well as her parents to the still active ones after he attacked Harry the first time. To make it worse, he knew of the attack on her Aunt Amelia and purposefully didn't inform her to keep Snape being trusted."

"Luna was likewise not controlled with spells or potions, but Dumbledore did somehow manage to coerce Rolf Scamander to contact her later in her life. Rolf it turns out is actually old enough to be her father but uses a glamour charm to hide his real age. Outside of being a pedophile, he purposefully kept Luna from proving some of the more exotic creatures actually existed."

"That leaves Minnie, and I guess her new revealed status as a concubine, as the only things we knew prior to that was that a lot of her responses were compulsions that rivaled the Imperious in taking her free will away, as well as having a great deal of her memories Obliviated," Tracey finished and made looked at Minerva questioningly.

"While my status is new, there isn't much to it. I'm the last of my clan, and became such at a very young age. During the Blitz on London during the muggle Second World War I got caught by shrapnel from a building being blown up as I was there dealing with Gringots and what was left of my family's estate. Charlus and Dorea where there as well to discuss family matters with the Blacks when they found me wounded and saved me from dying. As it was, there wasn't much left of my family's estate in assets and trying to find employment during that time was next to impossible if you didn't have connections. Dorea was the one to suggest the Concubine Bond to repay the Life Debt I owed to her and Charlus, after I had an emotion breakdown of not knowing where I could make it in the world. They were both wonderful people and helped push me into my Transfiguration Mastery. After they died, I was told by Dumbledore that I needn't worry about their wills, and well, we already know how that turned out the first time around," Minnie said and finished the last part as almost a hiss at the memories of being forcibly bound to the walrus Slughorn.

"And that's just what happened to you girls," Neville started, "For Harry and I; he planned out most of our lives for us the second we were born. He had planned on us being raised parentless, as he set up both of our parents downfalls, and planned on us being… well, weak minded pawns is the simplest thing I can think of. He planned out our younger years and enforced them to some nasty extremes, at least in Harry's case. Outside of that, he's been manipulating not only the knowledge of the British Wizarding World, but also the families in his attempt to see his 'Greater Good' come to pass."

Hermione's mouth was hanging wide open with her eyes just as wide as the story came out. As Tracy relayed a summary of each girl's past, she saw the haunted looks on their faces as they darkened and the desire to stop those events from happening. Harry and Neville's expressions grew darker with each summary as well and it was only because of the girls on either side of them that kept them from losing their temper.

"Clarice is a further nail in that fucks coffin. That he not only set up for my parents to die, he found out and hid the fact that I apparently had a sister in plain sight and kept me from knowing her," Harry growled out as his eyes flashed briefly as his anger was spiking. "My best guess is that he was truly the first one that arrived at that cottage in Godric's Hollow and found Clarice and me in the rubble. He likely modified Sirius' and Hagrid's memories as they arrived, something we already pieced together with Minnie as the inconsistencies of time pointed out. From there he left her at an orphanage with a fake name and likely made her life growing up there just as bad as he made mine with what he did to my Aunt and those two cretins."

"And that is why we need to come up with at least a base plan on what to do from here," Minnie said, though her tone was just as strained.

Whatever would be said next though was stopped abruptly as the doors to the classroom slammed open. All of them turned to see who had entered and were not really surprised to see Dolores Umbridge stride into the room with an evil gleam in her eye and a sneer on her face.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she asked rhetorically as she looked at the gather group. Seeing a good deal of people from the DA she had caught made her grin slightly but that grin faltered when she saw Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria sitting amongst them. All three had fallen back into their emotionless and cold masks instantly, though the annoyance that Umbridge saw was quite real. Well, she took it as annoyance as the girls were controlling their anger from earlier and directing it into the glare they were sending Umbridge's way.

"What you have, Madam Umbridge is a symposium on Transfiguration. But I'm actually glad you showed up as I have something for you," Minnie replied instantly, her tone controlled thanks to years of coming off as the stern professor.

Umbridge blinked in surprise. That hadn't been the response she had been expecting, especially after the shouting match that had happened earlier in the week, as well as Minerva stepping up for the Divination teacher. "Oh really, and what exactly do you have for me?"

Minnie's lips twitched slightly, and only the group that knew her caught it, dulling their current anger and irritation for the moment to be placed by curiosity. It was obvious she had planned for something like this happening but none of them had any idea what was going on.

With very deliberate motions to grab her wand, Minnie pulled it from her robes and flicked it towards her office door. The door promptly opened and a rather comically large stack of parchment came floating to the table.

"Are you having issues grading the assignments you have given your classes Professor McGonagall? Tut, that is surprising for someone of your… _credibility,_" Umbridge said with a sneer seeing the giant stack of papers. She figured that this was her ticket to getting another of Dumbledore's supporters ousted from the school so the Ministry could control what was taught more.

She completely missed the wicked gleam in Minnie's eyes or the dawning realization in Harry's as he had an inclination to what that stack of paper was.

"I can grade the assignments I give just fine Dolores, as I've been doing it for a very long time," Minnie started, her eyes almost twinkling in viciousness, "This stack of papers however is what is has backlogged since Mr. Dumbledore has been removed from his post and now considered a 'wanted' man. I wasn't made aware of this backlog until last night. I'm afraid that you will have to go over these thoroughly before you make your decisions on them."

Watching the pink toad's eyes widen to fit her nickname's namesake was rather entertaining, especially as she sputtered along with it for several seconds before regaining _some_ composure.

"If these are documents that the Headmaster needs to review and go over, I designate the responsibility to you to go over and complete them Minerva, since you _are_ this schools Deputy Headmistress," Umbridge said with a victorious smirk.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible Dolores, as these are the papers dealing with the business the school has outside the school. My position requires me to oversee the _internal _workings of the school. Only the Headmaster or Headmistress can approve of these, as set down by the Board of Governors and the Hogwarts charter," Minnie said with her own very small smirk, especially as it wiped the smirk off of the toadies face.

"I can have your job for not following my orders not only as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts and Headmistress, but as the Senior Undersecretary of the Minister as well," Dolores stated with venom in her voice. Minnie's smirk turned into a vicious smile.

"Then you would have to cover all the paperwork I have to deal with as the Deputy Headmistress and as the Transfiguration teacher as well Dolores. On top of that, I know for a fact that you would have to contact the Board of Governors and the testers for the OWLs and NEWTs about my termination, as well as finding new teachers for Transfiguration, Divination, and any other subject whose teacher you find unsuitable. I only really went over these documents to make summaries for Mr. Dumbledore as a small favor as he dealt with his obligations in the Wizengamot and the ICW, but as he is a wanted man, I no longer wish to have any association with the man. And seeing as these are the review weeks before those exams, my own workload is quite large in dealing with paperwork. Surely you already knew what you were getting into when the Minister made you the Headmistress? Don't you have to deal with paperwork for Minister Fudge? I mean, you are his Senior Undersecretary after all," Minnie said as she conjured a small string that tied the large stack of parchment together.

She then cast a feather light charm on the stack and floated it over to Dolores who had her mouth slightly agape.

It took the woman about a minute to regain her composure before she took out her own wand and shrunk the stack before pocketing. The public declaration or partially public declaration of separation from supporting Dumbledore had left her at a loss for words. It overshadowed the bard at her lack of preparation for the paperwork, but she figured she could use the paperwork to give the ministry more control of the school.

"Yes, well, one must not associate with undesirable people," she said as she gave Harry a pointed look, hoping to get him to rise to her taunt. He simply raised an eyebrow at her and kept quiet.

The only reason he didn't say anything was because Hermione had a death grip on his hand and Tracey had one on his thigh.

"Will that be all Dolores?" Minnie asked with a raised eyebrow with her face in its stern look.

Dolores quailed slightly at her look with an unknown step back.

"Yes, that will be all," she responded quickly before turning around and left quickly.

The second she was out the door, a spell streaked from Neville, the same one Harry had used before he bound Minnie, and sealed the room. Upon it sealing the room, Harry couldn't hold the laughter in anymore, especially after Hermione and Tracey let go of his leg and stared with the others in awe at Minerva who had a giant smirk on her face.

"That… That was absolutely brilliant!" Astoria said in awe of the older woman.

"I think I just came from how positively Slithering that was," Tracey crowed with sparkles and hearts in her eyes. Her comment made Minnie blush furiously with her smile and the others chuckle.

"I'm still stuck on the fact she just squashed a toad under paperwork," Harry said with a very amused and awed look to go with his ear to ear grin.

Minnie's blush just got brighter and the chuckles turned into deep, belly cleansing laughs from all of them. It took a long several minutes for the group to get their laughing under control, and for Minnie to control her blush.

When they had finally wound down, they all had flushed faces and small grins, even as they all knew the conversation was going to end up being incredibly serious and morose.

"So…" Padma started when the giggles and chuckles had ceased, "Where do we want to start? We are in our fifth year, Sirius is for all intents and purposes under house arrest, the ministry is denying Voldemort's return, Dumbledore is who knows where but likely forcing those contracts which we will have to make null and void over the summer, and we still have several people to bring back. To add to all of that, we know where Voldemort's Horcruxes are, but we also have this new twist with Clarice."

"We should start with figuring out how to return the other girls back first, followed by who we should bring into the know so another Witch Hunt isn't needed again," Neville replied.

"That's probably the best place to start," Harry said, "But the absolutes that need to be brought in are my godfather, Neville's gran, Remus, Susan's Aunt, and all of the parents. Most we won't be able to talk to until the summer as it is anyways, but we won't have to same problems we had last time. The two easiest we can deal with soon are Remus and Sirius, though it's likely it will be easier to convince Remus once we have Sirius."

"We can take care of that later today can't we? This time we already know about the mirror to talk to him," Luna asked. She was scarily focused for this conversation and only Hermione was slightly unnerved since she wasn't as used to the non-spacey Luna.

"Yea," Harry responded with slightly misty eyes. He _still_ felt horrible for not having remembered about the mirror the first time and he had spent thousands of days agonizing over it along with everything else during his long years of life. Hermione gave his hand another squeeze that made him smile at her briefly. "It will probably be the best if Hermione, Neville, Minnie, and I go to Grimmuald Place to talk with him after lunch so we can head into the alley and get Neville his real wand afterwards and warn Ollivander as well."

He noted Minnie's and Hermione's frown instantly following that statement.

"Harry, how did you say the location of headquarters when it's supposed to be under a Fidelius Charm right now?" Minnie asked confused.

Harry blinked at her question, at a loss for an answer until he remembered the signet rings. He removed his hand from Hermione's and placed his palm down on the table and willed the two rings to appear. It was mostly second nature for him to hide them as he hadn't wanted or needed to have them on display in the last time line.

"My guess it has something to do with the fact I became Lord Black when I claimed my inheritance as well. I have no clue as to how that happened as I was under the impression Sirius was the current Lord. The only thing I can think of is check the last Lord Black's will to see if he specifically designated me or something, because by rights of closest male by blood, Sirius should still be it. But as Lord Black, the Fidelius is likely still there, but isn't strong enough to stop me from revealing what is probably my property. I can tell you though, once I take control of Grimmauld's Wards, that Fidelius is getting obliterated," Harry said with a wicked grin.

"Well that's good to know about that and a good place to start with telling people about us," Lavender said, "But like you said, we need to work on bringing back the other girls. The quicker we can get them back, the less chance they will have at making a mistake and blowing our cover. Not to mention, we can't really make full on plans yet without the other girls."

The group nodded in agreement before they went into a brainstorming session on how to get the other girls back. For the girls still in school, Parvati came up with a brilliant idea of giving the girls detention for something and having them all gather like they are now. She got some mild ribbing from the others at her idea of 'getting others in trouble' but she just stuck her tongue out at the group in response. But her idea was great, and would help circumvent a lot of problems, especially in getting in touch with Pansy.

"That still leaves Narcissa and Tonks," Daphne said once they had all agreed on Parvati's plan.

It lulled into silence for a few minutes before Harry came up with an idea. He didn't even say anything at first, just stood with a smile on his face and in one smooth motioned transformed into his falcon form, landing on the table as he did so. If he could have laughed at the others in his form he would have as they _all _had their mouths open in shock.

Regardless of how much time he had spent talking with Minnie about his theories on the Animagus Transformation, he had never pursued it fully until everyone was gone. He and most of his family had at the very least started the process to become Animagus, but by the time they had all started, only Harry was still in shape enough to handle the strain the initial stages of transformation caused. Well that and the tried and true method of at the least finding out what your base animal, at the least, was through a potion couldn't be done then as most of the ingredients to make it had been destroyed during the Witch Hunt, and had gone extinct within several years after that.

As awed as everyone was though, Susan figured out what his form meant once her brain restarted.

"You can fly out of here with a package and take it directly to Tonks and Narcissa!" she exclaimed happily, which set the light bulbs off for the others. Since Harry could transform into a bird, he'd be able to enter the wards around Malfoy Manor without tipping anyone off, as well as act like a messenger bird for both Narcissa and Tonks.

Jumping and flapping his wings several times, Harry promptly morphed back into his normal self with an ear to ear grin.

"I'm glad to see you finished your form Harry," Minnie said with a smile.

Harry's grin just got wider as he decided to surprise the older woman. He stepped behind his chair and pushed it in, gaining slightly confused looks from the others, even more so when he waved his hand and the tables stacked themselves against the walls like before.

Then, after a few more steps back, he changed into his wolf form. Being around thirty feet long from nose to tail tip and standing almost 10 feet at his shoulders, Harry's wolf form was magnificent. All of the others had their jaws open in shock at the second form, but Harry did notice that Daphne, Astoria, and Luna's eyes were larger than everyone else.

Internally he wanted to cry a bit because it had taken him years to find an image that led him to what his form looked like, especially since the coloring was so unique. That Luna, Daphna, and Astoria all knew him immediately just wasn't fair!

"Impossible," Minnie muttered, "It shouldn't be possible to have a second form. And this wolf is obviously magical as well because I've never seen any animal this large of the wolf breed. Not even werewolves get this large."

"It's Fenrir actually," Luna said, "Or he at least looks like Fenrir with the sole exception being those wonderful emerald eyes." She got a deep woof from the form for her comment which brought a cheshire grin to her face.

"His fur is amazing," Tracey said as well, as she was gently running her fingers along the form's front leg that was closest to her. Hermione was doing the same thing as well on the other side and it wasn't long before all of the others, minus Neville, were up and petting the silk like fir of the form. Harry had to lay down for them all to be able to pet him though, but as soon as he had the girls were all rubbing their faces in his fir as well.

Luna took sole occupancy to hug his gigantic snout. When she first come over she couldn't resist and pet him on the nose as if he were a pet and got a giant tongue to lick her face in response, much to her own delight if her giggles were anything to go by. It would take another several minutes for the girls to stop petting him and retake their seats.

While they sat back down, Harry changed back and restored the desks that he hadn't transfigured and moved back to their originally spots while he too took his seat.

"You really enjoy breaking the laws of magic don't you Harry?" Minnie asked in a deadpanned voice with a look to match. The effect was slightly ruined by the miniscule twitching of the corner of her lips.

"That's the story of my life Min," Harry said with a cheeky grin, "Besides I thought we already figured that part out the day I came back?"

He got a tongue sticking out of him as a reply, even as her cheeks flushed with her blush.

"But how did you manage a second form, not to mention a magical one at that? I mean, it shouldn't be possible…" Hermione questioned.

What followed was a brief summary on the theory and method Harry had figured out to gain access to multiple forms. He had also promised to go over the process with all of them to get their forms. Well, after a good bit of glaring from some of the girls that is.

"So the immediate plan is to act as we have until the others are returned and we have Sirius at the least on our side as well?" Lavender asked when they managed to focus again.

"With one addition," Harry said after he and the others had nodded, "Susan, Hannah, I'd like it if you two could talk with Clarice some more and watch out for her since you share the same house. Astoria and Luna, please do the same for any of the classes you two share with her."

All four girls nodded with looks of determination on their faces. Shortly after that, the group split up once more, everyone leaving in pairs or triplets. Both Neville and Harry made sure to give each of their ladies a hug and kiss before they left as the last group to leave was Harry, Neville, Minnie, and Hermione.

They figured that it would be a good idea for Minnie to _escort_ them back to the common room again to retrieve the mirror. They only had to deal with one encounter on their way up to the tower, that being Draco Malfoy laying in wait for them outside of the Transfiguration Classroom. One stern glare and an icy 'May I help you Mr. Malfoy?' from Minnie sent the Slytherin running.

Once inside the tower however there was another confrontation, or at least there could have been had Ron managed to look up from his chess came with Seamus. Seamus _did_ notice them however and the three 'students' gave him a small wave as his head of house gave him a small head nod in greeting as she followed the others. It was a little odd for him, but with Harry involved, most everything was anyways so he didn't think or say anything about it.

Once inside the fifth year boys' dorm room, Harry cast the sealing spell at the door before walking over to his trunk. Very carefully he pulled the items in it out, reorganizing his slightly chaotic items as he did so, before pulling out the wrapped package Sirius had given him. He placed what he knew was the mirror on the bed before putting his things back again in the manner he had sorted them. What he didn't put back though was his invisibility cloak, and idly he smiled as he realized the charm he had cast had removed the tracking charms he had found on it the first time around. Granted, he hadn't noticed them before because he hadn't been as aware of magic as he was now, nor had he known about them having been placed by the Elder Wand, making them incredibly strong and almost impossible to sense.

Now though he wouldn't let this Hallow out of his sight again unless it was in the hands of one of his or Neville's loves. Folding the cloak quickly after he had repacked, he placed it in his pocket which had already been charmed to have the interior expanded. He made a mental note to find something better than his pocket to store all the things he wanted to keep on him.

Once his cloak was secure though, he gently opened the wrapping around the mirror as if it was the most delicate thing in the world. It was a little silly as it had taken a fit of rage when he was younger the first time to break it, not to mention he highly doubted that Sirius, his dad, and Remus hadn't dropped them all at some point or another.

Once the small mirror was free of the wrapping he traced the edges with his fingers absentmindedly as he tried to figure out how to start up a conversation with the first person he had started to consider a father figure until he had been ripped away from him. It had been an ungodly amount of years since then, but Sirius' death had always been a sore point for him.

He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind, and judging by the height of the person as they laid their head against his back, it was Hermione. Two hands rested on his shoulders as well, Neville on his left and Minnie on his right. A few tears escaped his eyes as he basked in the comfort they were supporting him with.

After a few minutes of silence, Harry wiped the tears away from his eyes before croaking slightly, "Padfoot."

It didn't take long for Sirius' face to appear in the mirror looking both extremely pleased as well as concerned.

"Hey pup," Sirius started with a smile, "I was beginning to think you hadn't opened that gift, or forgot about it. Is everything all right?"

Harry grimaced at the comment slightly as he _had_ forgotten about the mirror the first time. It was one of the reasons Sirius' death affected him so much as he still believed he had been partially at fault for not having thought things through.

"Everything's fine for the most part Sirius."

"That doesn't like everything's fine there pup. Is that ministry toad being a pain the ass again or is it still Snape?"

"Neither actually Sirius," Minnie said as she leaned in close to Harry's head to be able to be seen. She did that right as Hermione's head popped up on the other side of Harry's head so that both women's heads were being projected to Sirius' mirror. "Umbridge is currently dealing with a rather cumbersome amount of paperwork and Snape hasn't been more of problem than he usually is."

Sirius blinked a couple of times at seeing the two new additions to the mirror before responding, "Uh, that's good then I guess. It's a surprise but good to see you Professor, and you as well Hermione as I expected Harry to tell you about this little gift at least."

Harry grinned at Sirius' project confused expression before he set the mirror down on the bed so it looked at the small group and took a step back as the girls took up position on either side of him, and Neville stood next to Hermione.

Watching Sirius' face blanch at seeing Neville was amusing to all parties involved. Well, minus Sirius.

"Uh," Sirius started slightly scared at seeing one of Harry's dorm mates with the others. He had yet to process that Harry and Hermione looked different, or that Harry's arms were obviously around both Minnie's and Hermione's waists. "Are you sure it's okay to have someone else in the room that probably still thinks I'm a mass murdering escaped convict?"

"Right," Neville said giving Sirius a deadpanned expression, "If you're those things, I'm the Queen of England. And seeing as how last I checked I still had my bits, I'm guessing you're innocent of everything they've said about you. Well almost everything. I'm well informed that you being crazy is quite correct, just used in the wrong context."

Sirius' gaping fish like reaction made them all chuckle, which caused Sirius to pout, just making the chuckles change to outright laughter. When they had calmed down a bit, Harry, still grinning like a loon, asked, "Is there anyone else there at the house there with you?"

Sirius' expression changed instantly to the hardened man that he had become from spending so long in Azkaban. The expression made the others frown at his look.

"For the next few days I'll be alone. Molly and Arthur are doing something at The Burrow for a few days…" he trailed off slightly as his expression grew slightly distant as if he wanted to continue but didn't know how.

"So you are completely alone in the house at the moment?" Hermione asked again, snapping the man back to reality. He nodded once in confirmation before he looked back to Neville and was about to mention that it wasn't wise talking about his residence to someone who didn't know about it.

His thoughts vanished and his jaw hung loosely as all of a sudden Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Minnie appeared directly in front of him in the living room with smiles and slightly smug looks. Well Neville and Harry had small smirks, Minnie was smiling along with Hermione, but her expression was slightly confused as she tried to figure out how exactly Harry had Apparated them all from inside Hogwarts.

"How… But… You shouldn't… That's… What the hell are you doing here? No, scratch that, _how_ the bloody hell did you get here?" Sirius stammered out in shock.

Harry just grinned before he released the girls' waists and crushed Sirius into a hug. It took everything he had not to break down at seeing his godfather in the flesh again.

Sirius on the other hand was not even more shocked as Harry was now a couple inches taller than he was, as opposed to being smaller than him several months ago. Not to mention he looked more physically fit than he remembered as well. And bloody hell was Harry all of a sudden strong as he was starting to have trouble breathing from how hard Harry was hugging him.

It took about thirty seconds into the hug that Harry let him go, and he gasped for breath slightly as his brain finally kicked in and started to process the small things he had missed, especially as he finally took a good look at Harry and those he had come with. Then he processed the small things like how they had shown up, Harry with his arms around the girls, and Neville not even touching any of them meaning he had Apparated on his own. His brows furrowed slightly when that thought came up.

"It's great to see you again pup, ignoring the fact you broke the laws of magic. Why are you here though? On top of that, how is that you are here, not to mention how your friend here managed to Apparate to a place he shouldn't even know about. And while we're at it, what the hell happened to you to change your appearance so much?"

Harry flinched slightly at the demanding gaze of Sirius as he asked each question. His body reacting to people who were _technically _older than him caused him some irritation but it also helped to mislead people that he was still a teenager.

What followed after Sirius' demands though was a several hour explanation that left the man shaking and pale. He had gone through several glasses of whiskey, starting with when Harry swore a binding magical oath about his, Hermione's, Minnie's, and Neville's identities and that what he would be saying would be the truth as far as he knew.

It really didn't get much better after that for him. Learning a brief synopsis of what happened in the future, though with a bit more details when it came to the Black family had left many of his beliefs as nothing more than dust in the wind. When he learned of his own brother's fate, and having Kreature confirm it after Harry had called him and had him tell the story he had heard the first time, his heart nearly broke. The only high point of the story for him was when Harry and Neville spoke of their girls. Of course learning of old Professor's status had nearly made him choke, but after a few seconds of thinking it through, especially since it was after Harry had informed him of the women in his life, he couldn't stop laughing for nearly ten minutes.

Now though, with a lull in conversation, the magnitude of the bomb the four had dropped on Sirius was finally getting him. Many emotions were at war in his body as his mind worked on processing everything and for once, he was trying to actually think things through without going off half-cocked like he had before. The most prominent emotion that started to boil up over the others was anger.

Finding out how badly his family had been manipulated made him angrier than when he Peter had betrayed the Marauders. The only thing that kept him from kicking everyone out of the house except for those currently in the room and the ones Harry and Neville had mentioned was that he no longer had control of the wards to Grimmuald Place.

That had been almost as shocking as everything else learning that Harry was now Lord Black after having claimed his inheritance. He had no idea why it had happened either, but did guess that Arcturus had done something in his will that Dumbledore had kept hidden when Arcturus had finally died.

"That is one hell of a story," Sirius said with his shaken voice as he took another swig from his tumbler of whiskey. "If it hadn't been for your oath at the start, I'd think you were trying to prank me, and this would have been one hell of a prank if it wasn't so horrifying. I can't imagine how you managed to stay even partially sane at all after finding any of this out Harry."

Harry chuckled darkly at the small attempt at humor, "Believe me Sirius, I'm not sure how I managed either."

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Sirius asked.

"Once all of the other girls have been restored we'll plan on working that out. That's the major priority right now," Minnie started, "In between our smaller plans were fairly simple. First was to let you know about what is going on, second was making sure Neville had a proper wand, even if he doesn't really need it anymore, and third was at the very least contacting the goblins to fix the problems with Harry's and Neville's accounts there."

"You should probably know then that Molly has…" Sirius started but Harry interrupted him and said, "… She's been using money from my trust vault to take care of all of the expenses for all of her kids in school as well for all the food she's been cooking and serving here for the Order. I know. It's actually a lot worse as she's been using it to buy ingredients to make the potions she's been brewing."

"She's been brewing Potions?" Sirius asked in a confused voice. As much horror as the four had told him even with mentioning potions used on the other girls he had assumed it was Snape not Molly that had made them.

"She's been dosing Harry and I love and loyalty potions for a while now. Actually she's been feeding the entire Order loyalty potions key to Dumbledore since they've been reactivated. Not to mention the potions she slipped to Remus accidentally and Tonks intentionally. She's apparently better at brewing those potions than Snape," Hermione said with more than a little hostility.

A look of anger and disgust came over his face hearing that. That would explain why he never pressed Dumbledore more to get him out of this bloody house.

A thought suddenly clicked for Sirius and his face turned into a positively mischievous and evil grin, making the other four look at each other briefly.

"Okay, you obviously have a thought Padfoot. Care to share it with the rest of us?" Harry asked.

"I was just thinking of how interesting it would be for Molly to try and cook something with Kreature taking up his duties now," Sirius said with his grin getting bigger and scarier.

Almost instantly the other four people's grins matched Sirius' thinking about the ancient elf. He had been crotchety before but after learning of the manipulations of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, the elf had a vendetta to settle. Knowing that Molly was one of the people that had caused those manipulations, it would be amusing as hell to watch her try and do anything near the kitchen. Hell, it would be amusing as hell to watch her try and accomplish anything _anywhere_ in the house if the elf even let her stay in the house to begin with.

"Considering we know all her crimes to date, that is a rather fitting start," Harry said darkly, "It will fit with what I have planned for her. I had too much of a knee-jerk reaction in dealing with those abominations the first time. This time…"

Harry's aura spiked then, though the crushing presence wasn't there. It was the first time Sirius had seen Harry show the power that had been mentioned. He could honestly say though that it was the most terrifying sight he had ever seen. The glowing emerald eyes that seemed to burn, the malevolent grin, the candlelight flickering as if a strong wind was blowing, and the dark chuckle at whatever Harry was thinking currently would haunt a few of his nightmares for some time.

The only thing he could even remotely compare the feeling to was when the Dementors had almost sucked out his soul.

That terror only grew as Harry lifted his right hand from where he was sitting and a black and purple ball of pure magic came to be in his hand. Around his fingers danced what looked like small bolts of lightning the same color of the ball.

"This time I will leave them broken, humiliated, and not but a shell of their former selves," Harry finished as his grin grew wider as if he had slipped into insanity.

What made Sirius even more scared was that Hermione, Minnie, and Neville all had dark looks to match Harry's, and a determination in their eyes that he had only seen when Lily was on a warpath.

For the briefest of moments, Sirius felt sorry for all the people that were on Harry's 'list' as he called it. That moment passed quickly and as Harry closed his hand around the ball, dissipating the magic.

**A/N:** Again, sorry for the delay. This chapter was a little hard to write while on set, and I'm not fully happy with it, but I hopefully got my points across for this chapter.


	6. CH5: Of Rights and Wrongs

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N: ** So here's the next installment. I won't say much here as it will spoil the chapter a bit, but read the additional note down below. I'll try and get the next chapter out fairly soon, read hopefully in a month, because I have most of it set out, I just need to flesh out some of the more annoying details that don't feel right still.

**Recommended Story: "**The Harem Wars" By Radaslab. This is probably one of the longest stories posted on and I only really know of one that currently surpasses it. It's a great story with a great amount of back story and history for his work. Like I said before, I've taken a lot of my inspiration from Radaslab's work, specifically from "The Harem War," but I've tried to show how what I've used is different from his. Either way, it's a great story and I suggest anyone who likes my story to go read it.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FIVE: Of Rights and Wrongs<strong>

**Location: Diagon Alley, London, UK;**

**Time: Saturday May 4, 1996; 5:49PM**

Harry pulled his cloak around himself a bit tighter as he walked down the magical alley that so many wizarding people in Britain were familiar with. He had left Sirius back at Grimmuald place after their discussion.

The man had been shaken badly enough that even though he had emptied at least a bottle of whiskey by himself, he was still stone cold sober. Well almost. He had started to feel sick and lightheaded, but even he didn't know if it was from the alcohol or from the images his mind created to fit in with the descriptions Harry, Minnie, Neville, and Hermione had given about the first time line. Sirius had excused himself after swearing to keep everything secret and to talk with them again after he had had time to think on things.

After that, the group of four decided to make the brief trip to Diagon Alley to make some minor fixes already. It was a bit impulsive but they were here, and since they had anticipated Sirius taking more time, they decided to not waste the opportunity. Neville, Hermione, and Minnie were going to be waiting in Flourish and Botts until he came back from what he was currently heading to do, and that was deal with the Goblins. Their plans for after that were to get Neville his wand and warn Ollivander about Voldemort eventually going after him to figure out what 'the problem' was between his and Harry's wands. They had made a brief plan to hopefully have Ollivander spread the word to whatever wand makers he knew, hoping that word would reach Gregorovitch somehow and he would be another life spared.

Harry brought himself out of his thoughts though as he reached his destination at the bottom of the marbled steps to Gringots. Seeing the building for the first time in a _very_ long time made him have conflicting emotions. He remembered the awe he had when he first set eyes on it in his first year; the trepidation as he approached it with a half cocked plan to break into one of the vaults; the horror he had as he watched Griphook betray them; the rush of riding out of the bank on the back of a dragon to escape the goblin guards trying to capture them; the irritation of trying to remain neutral to the goblins as they sneered at him after Voldemort had been killed; the annoyance realizing that the goblins had been, at least in part, just as much as victims of manipulations as the rest of the wizarding world had been, even after the Witch Hunt.

Out of all these feelings with his memories, the one that outshined the rest was curiosity. He could feel the wards around the building the same as he could around most of the residences or places of importance in the wizarding world. If he focused hard enough, he would be able to identify them, but he really didn't feel any need to. He had seen many of them before, or at least felt many of them before, and could block out of the effects of nearly all of them if they were triggered. The one that made him pause briefly was the interesting bit of a compulsion to read their warning on the front.

Harry had to restrain a chuckle at what his senses told him after he focused on the saying but didn't read it again. The compulsion just drew your attention to it, and the rhyme was just that, a rhyme. No other magic was around it or directed to it and he wondered how many stories he had heard about what the saying on their wall actually did. The more entertaining ones saying it was a magical contract that once you finished reading it, if you ever tried to steal from the goblins that you'd forfeit any and all vaults you could possibly have with them before being banned from their bank for good.

Of course the goblins had never confirmed or denied the possibilities, and with magic a great many of them _were_ possible, which lead to the wizarding world to create more outlandish stories. Harry figured the goblins were quite amused by the people's antics.

The chuckle he had restrained early bubbled out as he shook his head while starting to ascend the steps to the bank. There weren't a lot of them, and in several seconds he was already at the top and standing in front of the doors. He idly noted that both of the goblins standing outside were watching him out of the corner of their eyes and gripped their halberds tighter. He dismissed their actions as precaution considering how he was dressed, or at least how his cloak looked on him. It was just a simple black cloak like most of the wizarding world used, but he had the hood up that not only covered his head but also his forehead where his scar was, and shadowed his eyes so they couldn't see them. On top of that, it covered all of his other clothing. He figured he looked at least a little suspicious with the cloak on like that but would rather be looked at with suspicion than blow his cover.

With a deep breath he took a step towards the door while he reached out to push the door open as well. In the next few moments he came to the conclusion that coincidence had it out for him as much as other people did.

Right as he had taken the step and placed his hand on the door and started to push, the door was jerked open rather violently causing him to stumble forward. In the process of his stumbling, the person who had yanked the door open had been storming out, head down and growling something under their breath. In one brief second, Harry's mind blanked at the loss of the door and the appearance of the person.

That second passed and was followed with him falling into the person, his hand that had been outstretched pulling itself in as his other hand came up to the same level to try and catch his balance. Unfortunately, this put his hands at chest level with the person and as they collided with him, he could tell quite clearly it was a woman as his hands were now on her breasts. He paled slightly the second his hands had latched onto the firm breasts in front of him only to have all thoughts go blank a moment later, though he did hear a squawk of surprise before his mind had gone blank.

The reason for his mind going blank was that even as he had stumbled, the woman had crashed into him as well but had been mid step. With his stumble and her in the process of taking a step, her knee had connected somewhat forcefully into Harry's groin. This only made matters worse as it threw him more off balance as his mind blanked the two now entwined people fell to the ground, with Harry falling backwards and the woman on top of him.

For Harry, his mind went from blanked to registering the pain in his tackle before his vision filled with stars as his head smacked against the ground. That was followed shortly by the pain in tackled getting worse as the woman had struggled slightly in the fall, obviously realizing that they were falling, and when they both hit the ground, her knee just put more force into his groin. The wind went completely out of his lungs at that point and all he could do was groan slightly as his vision became blurry from tears from the pain.

The woman realized where Harry's hands were a few seconds after the fall, but that was also just as she realized where her knee was and registered him groaning. It didn't take her long to realize he had tried to stop himself from falling after she had yanked the door open. She hadn't been paying attention to anyone on the other side and had run right into him.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" the woman exclaimed in apology as she lifted herself up with her arms on either side of Harry. This served to put more weight on the lower half of her body, especially her knees as she tried to stand up as well. Harry just groaned more as more pressure was applied to his groin.

The woman gasped slightly once she realized what she was doing and was quickly standing, leaving Harry to curl up on his side in a slight fetal position. Neither Harry nor the woman noticed the two goblin guards grinning at the two of them.

"I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?" the woman asked quickly as Harry was getting his breath under control and was waiting for the pain to ebb.

"I'm… fine…" he managed to gasp out as his breath started to come back and his vision started to clear.

"Here let me help you up," the woman said, and without waiting for Harry to agree, he felt the woman kneel down beside him before slinging one of his arms over her shoulder and starting to stand up. His body automatically went along with standing up as he pushed himself from the ground and then leaned a bit heavily on the woman as his breath started to come easier now and his vision started to clear faster.

It took about a minute for him to be able to balance on his own again and the pain to be nothing but a dull ache before he lifted his arm from the woman's shoulder and turned to her. When he did and saw who had accidently kneed him in the groin, he had to force himself from not laughing in irony.

Before him in her normal "Weird Sisters" t-shirt, jeans, bubblegum pink hair, and crimson cloak was none other than Nymphadora Tonks.

"Sorry about running into again and well… hurting you. I really need to pay more attention to where I'm going," Tonks said with a sheepish smile. Harry couldn't help but grin as this Tonks was still the bright bubbly woman he had developed a crush on so many years ago when he had first met her.

"No worry Tonks, no harm done. Well, at least I hope not. I would like to have kids some day," Harry said with a grin.

That grin quickly turned into a grimace as Tonks' smile turned into a frown. His words actually registered in his head just then and he wanted to smack himself for making the mistake of mentioning her name.

"How do you know who I am?" Tonks demanded as her wand seemed to appear in her hand and poke him under the chin. "I'm an Auror and you better answer me."

Harry had to force himself from not snorting at Tonks' attempt at intimidation. It would have worked better if he didn't know her or if she had chosen a better sentence. But seeing as how she had her wand right under his chin, he figured it was decent enough since a lot of spells could be lethal at that range.

Very slowly he raised his hands in surrender before using his right hand to reach for the hood of his cloak. Just as slowly he pulled it back until Tonks had a clear view of not only his eyes but also his scar.

Tonks' eyes widen in surprise at first before narrowing in suspicion, making Harry want to sigh as he dropped the hood back into place.

"You can't be Harry Potter. First, you look too old to be him and second, he's still in school at Hogwarts. Now tell me who you are before I have you arrested," Tonks all but snarled. At this point the goblins were getting closer to the two as well, their halberds leveled on the two should things get out of control.

"It's me Tonks. I can't explain exactly how it is me right now, but I am most certainly Harry James Potter," Harry said slowly. "If you want for me to prove it, I can say that the first time I ever met you was when you picked me up from my relatives house this summer, you're a metamorphagus, you hate people referring to you by your first name, you joined the Order of the Phoenix this year, and that my godfather is Sirius Black, who happens to also be you cousin and also innocent of the 'crimes' that got him placed in prison."

"But… how… what… why…" Tonks started to ramble as her arm with her wand dropped in shock.

Harry just sighed as he looked around briefly and noticed the goblins giving him curious looks; even through their halberds were now point back at the sky.

"I'll explain later Tonks, just come with me for now," Harry said before grabbing the hand of Tonks' that didn't have her wand currently and dragging her into the bank. Harry was thankfully Tonks was in enough of a shock and stupor that she didn't protest and also that as it was later in the day as there were only a few other people in Gringots currently.

Only when Harry finally stopped at a teller, who was looking both bemused and curious as to why a cloaked man was dragging a female Auror with him, did Tonks finally come back to her bearings and yank her hand away from Harry.

"What in the _hell_ do you think you are doing?" she hissed at Harry.

He completely ignored her as his focused on the goblin and asked, "Greetings, is it possible to speak with my account manager?"

The goblin's expression turned into a frown at the question. "While that will depend on which manager is overseeing your account, it matters little if I don't know which manager to contact."

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything different," Harry said a smooth tone that had Tonks frowning, especially as his left hand came up in front of his face.

Her frown only deepened when she saw the goblin blink in shock before settling into a frown of its own.

"Most intriguing, would you prefer to wait here or in a private location with your… guest?" the goblin asked in a guarded tone.

"Private, please Mr…" Harry requested and waited for the goblin to fill in the blank on his name.

"…Snarlfang," the goblin said after a few seconds pause. "I'm assuming by your cloak and request for privacy you wish for certain facts to remain… quiet, as it were."

At Harry's nod, the goblin seemed to disappear behind his station before he stepped out from a door that opened in the wall separating the tellers and the customers of the bank. Both Harry and Tonks blinked at the door opening then closing after the goblin had stepped through. There were no cracks showing the door at all.

"This way please," the goblin stated as he walked off, not even looking back to make sure the two were following him. Harry followed him quickly after grabbing Tonks' hand again. She didn't protest at all though she was aware that Harry was pulling her along for a few strides before she quickened her own pace to be along side of him. She noted that as she relaxed her hand, a signal that normally meant for someone to let go when they were at least friendly with each other that Harry's hand didn't relax at all.

She remained quiet as she tried to figure out what was going on. She idly took note of the path they were taking and after a few minutes were at an ornate double door that the goblin stopped before. He dragged his nail down the seam where the two doors met, which glowed slightly before opening.

"Please enter and have a seat. I will be back shortly," the goblin said and made sure the two had at least entered the room before leaving them with the doors ajar. Upon entering they saw that the room was a smooth granite cube cut, about ten feet across on either side and about fifteen feet high. In the center of the room was a circular table, about four feet in circumference, and directly above that was a chandelier filled with probably a hundred candles to fill the room with a surprising amount of light. Around the table where eight chairs evenly spaced.

It was at this point that Harry let go of Tonks' hand and walked to the table as he pulled back his hood and sat down in one of the chairs. Tonks noticed immediately that he wasn't wearing glasses and looked a lot healthier than she remembered.

"Harry," she said firmly, getting him to turn his emerald green eyes at her, "I want some answers here mister, and you better start answering before I start hexing."

"Uh, not that I don't believe you wouldn't hex me, but did you forget we're in Gringots currently?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

The question just made Tonks' own eyebrow start to twitch as her anger started to build.

"I don't bloody care that we are in Gringots right now. I've had enough problems today so you better start explaining to me why you are here and not back at Hogwarts or I'll start kicking your arse in place of hexing it," Tonks growled at Harry as she stalked up to him and poked him hard in the chest.

Harry's eyebrow stayed raised at her but his own irritation surfaced almost instantly. It was a mixture of this body's immaturity and his dislike of being ordered to do something like Tonks had just done. Outside of his control on his emotions being mostly back to where it should be, it was that he couldn't help having a brief flashback of seeing her body laying with the rest of the corpses in the Great Hall at the Battle of Hogwarts.

"If you must know, _Nymphadora_, it's exactly like I said to Snarlfang. I need to see my account manager," Harry said his tone having a slight edge to it that caught Tonks off guard enough to waylay her rising temper, especially as he had used her first name. "However, since you have so bluntly stated you will happily attack me for not explaining things further, I'll tell you that my purpose here is to deal with not only a Potter family matter but a Black family matter as well."

Tonks recoiled from Harry slightly as she could have sworn she saw his eyes flash completely green for a moment. Then when he had said caught up with her and her frown came back full force.

"What do you mean a Black family matter?" Tonks asked, her temper having cooled somewhat.

Harry sighed as he ran rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Just sit down Tonks and I'll try and explain what I can," Harry said while motioning for her to take the chair next to him.

Tonks just continued to stand there with her frown still prominent on her face. After a minute of silence, Harry motioned for her to sit again, his eyebrow twitching slightly at her being stubborn. Thankfully, this time she took the seat closest to her, but her frown was still there and her eyes were demanding Harry explain.

Harry took a deep breath once she had taken a seat before letting it out slowly, letting most of his irritation leave with the breath. When he was breathing normally again, he lifted his left hand towards his face, getting Tonks to look at it, and willed the two rings to appear.

At first she blinked at the sudden appearance of the two rings. It was obvious to her immediately that they were signet rings that only the heads of house for the higher echelon of the families in the wizarding world wore. Then realization of the crests on the two rings entered her thoughts and she took in a sharp and ragged breath as her eyes widened.

"As you can probably figure out now," Harry said, bringing Tonks' eyes up to his own. "I've come into my inheritance. Understandably, I'm not sure how I'm the next Lord Black as well as being the next Lord Potter. Right now, I'm here to figure out exactly _how_ that came to be, and at least figure out how the two accounts are being managed right now."

Tonks words failed her at the brief explanation. Many thoughts were going through her head about the implications of what it meant for Harry to be the new Lord Black. There were a lot of benefits she could see, but also a lot of complications she could see as well, especially considering Harry's current 'public opinion rating' because of the Daily Prophet's smear campaign.

Among all those thoughts however came one the first ones she had when Harry had shown that it was him in front of her several minutes ago.

"That explains the why, but not the how Harry. So again, how are you here when you should be back at Hogwarts?" Tonks demanded though a lot less forcefully than she had before. It was more of a firm request than anything else.

Harry sighed at the question, not really wanting to try and explain everything again like he had Sirius. If he could only give her back her…

He felt like slamming his head into the table at his sudden revelation. The memory balls he had already made were sitting in his pocket, which he had already started reaching for. In short order he had pulled the one for Tonks and had just pulled it out when several goblins came back into the room, five to be precise with one of them being Snarlfang. Both Tonks and Harry looked to them as the goblins were obviously in some sort of heated debate as one of the goblins was waving his hands about as he spoke to his colleagues.

Tonks was confused at what was going on between the goblins; especially as the four goblins that weren't sounding as if they were extremely pissed off had at least looks of irritation on their faces. Harry on the other hand had his eyes narrowed and focused on the goblin that was doing the equivalent of screaming at the others.

All of this became moot however as one very loud and commanding shout from outside the door shut the screaming goblin up in a hurry. Both Harry and Tonks blinked as all five goblins stopped what they were doing before standing up a little straighter and facing the doors to the room. Several seconds later a much older looking goblin than the others, though both Harry and Tonks really couldn't tell any distinct age. The only real distinction was that this goblin had many more wrinkles in his skin and his hair was a lot whiter than the others.

Besides the arriving goblin looking older, it was at least obvious to tell he was of some importance, especially considering how the other five had stopped talking immediately, and how his ensemble seemed to speak of more wealth than the others. The four armored guards with halberds similar to the ones outside the bank that were following him also helped let them know of his importance.

The newly arrived goblin stormed over to the other five, snarling in the goblin tongue, and judging from the wincing from the five, reaming them a new one. The guards took up position splitting into two groups, two standing by the doors after they had closed them, and two others following the elderly goblin.

The snarling never changed decibel levels, though the tone got harsher over the next several minutes. Tonks stared in mute shock as she had never seen goblins argue like this before, let alone see one that had guards following him. Harry on the other hand was getting quite annoyed with being ignored.

That annoyance reached its limit very quick and for a few seconds he uncoiled his control on his magic. Everyone but him stilled instantly as their heads snapped to look at him. What they all saw were his eyes glowing, making Tonks gasp as she realized she hadn't seen things earlier, but also the air around him was distorted as if it was in a haze. On top of that, everyone felt an immense pressure pushing down on them which was the only thing that had stopped the guards from leveling their halberds as they were using them to stay standing from the sudden pressure.

"While I'm generally a good natured individual, I have little patience for being ignored in a room where the individuals that have just arrived are obviously dealing with something in regards to me," Harry said with a slight edge and that hollow feeling as if death was in the room. Taking a large breath, Harry let it out slowly as he restrained his magic and the haze around him vanished while his eyes stopped glowing.

When the pressure vanished, the elder goblin's guards had their halberds leveled on Harry in an instant as their faces turned into snarls. The ones by the door had theirs leveled at Tonks.

"That was a very unwise move_,_" the elder goblin said, though his face held slight curiosity.

"I understand it was unwise as it can be considered threatening in nature," Harry responded, the edge still there but the feeling of death not there. "But I came here for a specific purpose, that being to get a general overview of the accounts here, particularly those regarding my inheritance, I would much rather not watch an employee be scolded. Doing what I did seemed the best way to get all of your attentions so that I might conclude my business here."

All of the goblins eyes narrowed slightly at Harry's response and Tonks paling as the guards gripped their halberds tighter. It was silent between the two races before the elderly goblin snorted slightly.

"Most intriguing your methods Lord Potter," the goblins said before waving off the guards. The four looked distinctly uncomfortable raising their weapons back to a neutral position, but they maintained their tight grips on them, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "While well reasoned, your actions were still unwise. You are lucky that you have at least given a decent enough reason for your actions, however, do not repeat them, otherwise you shall not like the consequences."

"Certainly," Harry drawled in response. "May we proceed with why I am here?"

"Of course Lord Potter," the elderly goblin responded for the others, making the one who had been screaming earlier snap his mouth shut and scowl at the elderly goblin. Tonks and Harry seemed to be the only ones to catch it and Tonks blinked in confusion while Harry had to stop himself from scowling back at that goblin.

The elderly goblin moved to the table then and took a seat directly across from Harry while the other five took up some of the remaining seats. Snarlfang was to Harry's right, since Tonks was to his left, and the other goblins sat in the remaining four chairs.

"Now Lord Potter you asked to speak with your account manager," the elderly goblin stated as his two guards took up positions on either side of him. "Normally this would not be a problem, especially as you asked it to be in private. But there seems to be a point of contention on the matter."

"Point of contention?" the goblin that had been scowling earlier snarled in anger, "There is no point of contention. The Potter Vaults have been sealed for over a decade and this child cannot take control of them until he reaches the appropriate age."

It took a lot of Harry's willpower not to lash out at the snarling goblin, especially as said goblin was giving him a look of disdain.

"And _how_ exactly have you come by that information Mr…?" Harry asked as calmly as he could, thought he edge from earlier was a lot sharper and told everyone in the room he was controlling his anger.

"Bloodhook," the goblin growled out at the request for his name, "And I am the Potter Account manager. I have been for just over thirteen years now. Not that it matters to you as you have no access to those accounts _human_."

Harry was having none of this goblins attitude though as it reminded him way to much of Vernon, especially the way he had said human was almost the exact same way Vernon said 'freak.'

Taking another slow, deep breath, something he noted he had been and would be doing a lot of for a while, he thought out his response. Lifting his left hand like he had done earlier, he willed the rings to appear yet again. _Every_ goblin's eyes widened as the rings appeared, including the one who had been challenging Harry's claim.

"I _am_ the Lord Potter, as is my right by blood, magic, and willed by the previous Lord Potter," Harry stated with power lacing his voice as well as his hard, piercing look at a now slightly shaking goblin. "You, Account Manager Bloodhook, cannot contest the magic that is needed for this ring to appear on my finger to claim what is rightfully mine."

Bloodhook could only nod dumbly.

"Now seeing as that point of contention is dealt with," the elderly goblin said in a slightly amused tone, "The other goblins that have joined us, with the exception of Snarlfang, apparently have been informed that you are also the account manager for the ones they hold as well."

"I am Gripclaw, the manager for the Black accounts," the goblin to the elder ones left introduced himself. "Are you sure you wish to proceed with such… _acquaintances_?"

Gripclaw had a sneer on his face as he asked his question after his introduction and staring at Tonks. Tonks, for her part, turned her face away from both Harry and Gripclaw as she looked at the floor and mumbled something under her breath that no one caught. Not that it mattered for Harry as his face hardened with a glare at Gripclaw.

"What seems to be the problem with who I associate with?" Harry asked, just barely managing to not have it come out as a growl.

"Your… _associate…,_" Gripclaw said with his sneer still in place, "… was trying to place a loan with the Black account to take care of her other loans. Since she is not a member of the Black family, she was denied most effectively."

Harry's hard gaze lingered on the goblin in the lapsing silence for several seconds before turning to Tonks who now had her arms crossed across her chest with her head tucked down. Her hair was cycling through several colors, showing her anxiety, but she also had a heavy blush on her face as well.

"Tonks," Harry inquired. His voice was both firm and gentle at the same time to draw her gaze to his. He noted that when she did turn to look at him briefly her eyes were on the verge of tears before she looked away ashamed. Something was obviously wrong and she was trying to avoid having to explain what she had been trying to do.

But amongst those emotions, he also saw her afraid of something. That fear caused his anger to spike as he figured it was something the goblins had done and that, as they had obviously let out _some_ information about a client, and Gripclaw obviously wouldn't hesitate to let more out. Having dealt with a traitorous goblin in his first time line, Harry had little patience for a possible one in this time line.

"How long have you been working for the Black account Mr. Gripclaw?" Harry demanded, barely restraining from growling.

"A little over five years _Lord Potter_," Gripclaw snarled. Regardless of how Bloodhook had been handled, he did not like dealing with this human. Granted he was also confused as to how this hand any relation to the current topic.

Warning bells went off immediately for Harry at hearing the time frame. On top of that, a previous looked over fact about goblins came to him making him frown.

Turning towards the elderly goblin, he was about to address him as since he was obviously of a higher position than the other goblins in the room, but stopped for a second realizing he didn't know the goblin's name.

"I have a question Mr…?" Harry asked, trailing off to give the elderly goblin the time to answer.

"Ragnok, Lord Potter," the elder goblin said with a toothy grin.

Harry immediately blinked at the name as a chill worked its way up his spine. He was sitting in a room with the Director of Gringots as well as chief of the Goblin Clans of Europe.

"As I was saying, Chief Director Ragnok," Harry started, making sure to use the goblins true title which made said goblin's grin just get larger, "Is it normal policy for an account manager to not make sure of a change in management, particularly in person, especially when it is an account like the Blacks?"

The grin on Ragnok faded instantly as his face took on a frown and a look of confusion. The two unidentified goblins and Snarlfang had frowns on their faces as well. Yet, Gripclaw and Bloodhook both had a slight discoloration to their skin as they paled almost insignificantly. Harry wouldn't have seen it had he not realized the two were also forcing frowns, though in Gripclaw's instance his face would be considered more of a scowl. Snarlfang had a confused look as he was trying to figure out the drastic change in topics.

"I'm afraid you have me at a slight disadvantage Lord Potter," Ragnok said slowly once Harry's eyes were faced towards his own. His peripheral vision noted that Harry's companion was no longer blushing but looking at Harry in confusion.

"What I speak of, Chief Director Ragnok, is that on my arrival to Gringots, this _very_ branch in fact, I was not made aware of my inheritances, or even questioned of them," Harry started in a drawl. "While I do not remember the name of the teller whom I first met, I am well aware of the goblin he called to take me to my vault. That goblin's name was Griphook."

Harry noted that in the corner of his eye, Bloodhook went from forcing a frown to taken back and the slight paling of the bronze skin turned into more pronounced. Ragnok's frown became a scowl as he looked to both Gripclaw and Bloodhook, taking longer with Bloodhook making the goblin squirm in his seat.

"To answer your question Lord Potter, it is most definitely against policy for an account manager to introduce themselves when a previous account manager is replaced," Ragnok spoke slowly, his voice hard as he tried to control his own anger. "Furthermore, I was not aware that the _child_ of Account Manger Bloodhook did not follow policy in bringing you to see both Bloodhook and me."

At Harry's frown and confusion at Ragnok's statement, he said, "The Potter account one of the three oldest accounts held in Gringots Lord Potter. Both the Black account and Bones account are the same. For all three accounts, whenever there is a change in management, or when an orphaned heir comes to the bank for the first time, the manager in question is to be notified and both the client and manager are to be brought to the Director to be a mediator in case the manager does not fit the clients desire for how they want the account handled."

Harry nodded to Ragnok in understanding when he had finished though internally he was forcing himself from grinning evilly.

"Then as we are currently here, I would ask you Director if it is possible for _both_ the Potter and Black accounts to receive new managers as it is obvious by your explanation that Gripclaw and Bloodhook have breached bank policy on several occasions as I have been in Gringots multiple times since I was first made aware of the magical world?" Harry drawled out.

Harry's question brought forth a reaction he hadn't truly been expecting though he _had_ figured something like it might happen. Both Gripclaw and Bloodhook stood abruptly from their seats and leapt at Harry snarling, ready to rip into him with claws and teeth.

Or at least that's what they wanted to do. The other occupants of the room had to blink a couple of times to figure out what they had seen happen the moment the two managers stood. The second they had stood up, Ragnok had reached out next to him in speed that was baffling for his age and grabbed the halberd of the guard to his right. After he had the weapon in hand, in a surprising move of dexterity and strength, Ragnok brought the halberd's axe like portion down hard on Gripclaw's skull before using the hard wooden bottom of the pole to slam violently into the temple of Bloodhook.

There was a sickening crunch from the second strike bone broke inward at the point of impact and both goblins dropped dead on the table.

Ragnok then spent the next minute or so snarling something out in the goblin tongue. From the looks on the other goblins' faces, he was swearing up a storm and that other goblins were about to meet the same fate as Gripclaw and Bloodtooth. After stopping his rant though, he stood their panting with obvious bloodlust in his eyes while staring at the two corpses as they bleed out on the table.

As his bloodlust faded though, his face hardened as he ripped out the halberd out of Gripclaw's head and handed the bloodied weapon back to the guard. Following that, he barked out several short and sharp phrases, still in his own tongue, which Harry figured were orders to the other goblins.

Harry's guess was confirmed as the four guards all but scrambled from the room, the two closest to the table taking the two corpses with them leaving bloody smears on the table. Snarlfang also rose quickly and ran from the room in a hurry, followed by the other two unidentified goblins. When no one else was in the room except for Ragnok, Harry, and Tonks, Ragnok finally sat back down in his chair.

It was at this point Harry turned to look at Tonks and noted she was pale and her hair had reverted to its natural mousy brown. This was obviously her first time seeing anything quite so violent, even as an Auror and it was most definitely the first time she had seen _anything_ die. She had yet to see the horror of what the second war had created.

He clenched his hands tightly at the thought of what the second war had done to so many people. But as he clenched his fists, he realized he still had the memory sphere in his right hand. Looking back over at Ragnok he noted that the elderly goblin was staring at him with a slight frown, probably wondering why Harry wasn't in the same state as Tonks was.

However, Tonks' breathing was starting to become erratic as she started to gasp for breath, drawing both Ragnok's and Harry's attention to herself. Both knew right away she was starting to hyperventilate. She was still starring at the blood that was on the table and her body was starting to tremble violently.

Looking back at Ragnok quickly, Harry shifted the sphere to his right hand and pulled out his wand slowly.

"Chief Director Ragnok," Harry started drawing the goblins gaze back to his, though the elderly goblins eyes darted to the wand in his hand, as well as the sphere, briefly as well.

Before Harry could ask permission to use magic, Ragnok raised a clawed hand to silence him.

"You are more than welcome to perform magic Lord Potter. You brought several serious crimes to my attention and have earned the right for now," Ragnok said before quickly looking over to the still gasping Tonks. "Besides, I believe you might be better suited to deal with the young woman."

Harry nodded his thanks before flicking his wand once.

Ragnok raised an eyebrow as he watched all the blood in the room vanished instantly and several seconds after that it looked as if the room had just been cleaned. If he remembered correctly, no human at the age of what Lord Potter was should be able to do that kind of magic.

"Tonks look at me," Harry said as firmly and as gently as he could to get the young woman's eyes to look away from where they were riveted. He had to repeat the instruction four more times before she finally did.

When she did finally look at him, he slowly reached his right hand out and across the space between them, leaning farther as his hand then went in front of her torso to grab her left hand. Well sort of grab her hand anyways. He had to use his pointer and middle finger to pry the hand away from the armrest, and once he had Tonks' hand gripped onto those fingers like a life line.

Pulling gently, he brought the grasping hands towards him, forcing Tonks' chair as well as her to face him directly. When she had turned, he used his left hand to pry the hand grasping his right fingers apart. He didn't remove that hand though once she had let go. Instead, he opened his right hand and placed the memory sphere in the palm of her hand before slowly closing her fingers around it.

The entire time he was doing this, he never took his eyes away from Tonks' as hers were still dilated and held panic in them. During the process the dilation eased slightly and the panic vanished, especially as he placed the sphere in her hand.

"Tonks, what's in this sphere will help," Harry said slowly as Tonks' mind started to come back to normal. "All you have to do is to tap your wand to the sphere itself to let the magic in it release to help ease the feelings you currently have."

Tonks was obviously aware enough that her eyes darted to Ragnok at the mention of pulling her wand. The old goblin caught the look and just nodded his head at the young Auror. He knew that something odd was at work within the sphere that Lord Potter had placed in the woman's hand, and though it reeked of powerful magic, it felt warm, and dare he say bubbly.

At Ragnok's nod, Tonks reached into the side of her robe with her right hand and took hold of the wand in its holster there. Once she pulled it out, she did exactly as Harry had said and gently tapped the sphere.

Ragnok's eyes widened dramatically the second Tonks touched the sphere with her wand. She instantly was wrapped in a soft green glow as a groan escaped her lips, yet, as odd as the look was for Ragnok his eyes were locked onto the glowing ring on Lord Potter's right hand. It illuminated the two rings he hadn't seen before and both were what had made the goblin's eyes widen.

For Tonks though, she felt the rush of magic enter her the moment she touched the sphere. Involuntarily she closed her eyes and images started to flash before her eyes at an incredible rate. With each images, she felt as if she had lived and experienced every sensation that went with the image. They were flying by so fast and she was being bombarded with so many she was having trouble processing them all and a groan left her lips as a slight headache started to throb in her head.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that the images were her life up until the point she had run into Harry earlier today before continuing on into what had to be the future. Still more and more images came until finally one particular one sprang up and encompassed all of her thoughts.

It was slightly surreal as she watched what she knew was a spectral version of her pulled from what looked like a giant library to a place in some wooded grove. Her spectral self landed in front of a thirty something looking Harry surrounded by several other older looking women. She listened to her spectral self talk with Harry and the women after they had been introduced.

The conversation started darkly with her finding out how she had been doused with love potions by Molly Weasley. It was strange feeling a sense of understanding flow over her as her thoughts went to think of how that explained how she fell so madly in love with someone she had considered an uncle when she was younger. Those emotions then turned to anger as things processed, followed by her spectral self ranting for nearly ten minutes before breaking down and crying. The older Harry had then walked up and tried to comfort her, only to swear under his breath as his hand passed through her body.

After that though, the women and Harry talked with her spirit for what seemed like an eternity as they told her about what had happened to the world since she had died, especially between Harry and the women around him. She was slightly bemused to find that he was in love with all of them but she was also slightly sad as confessed to having had a crush on him before she was doused with the potions. Her confession led the way for Harry to confess he had a crush on him in his youth as well which later turned to love once his mind had been cleared from the potions and his love expanded to include the women that were with him now.

As that last image faded away though, she felt the very spirit of that other life merge with her very essence. It was soft and comforting, yet still lively and bubbly, more so as it realized it was getting a second chance at life. Oddly, Tonks didn't feel bad at all at the merge. Instead she felt the same elation as the spirit and promised that no matter what, she'd make this chance count.

The blackness her vision was surrounded by was suddenly replaced by a soft green glow and Tonks felt both her own soul, and the spirit of the future Tonks settle.

The glow then faded and she started to come back to awareness as her mind was rapidly processing all the memories and sorting them. She groaned again slightly as the pain from the headache throbbed several times right behind her eyes but lessened with each pulse as well as the sorting started to slow down as her soul settled farther.

When the pain was gone and the memories sorted, she opened her eyes slowly. Everything was blurry for a few seconds and she had to blink to get her eyes focused. When she did, she saw Harry, much younger looking than when she saw him in limbo, as well as healthier. He was smiling widely and had a slight mist to his eyes.

"Welcome back Tonks."

His voice was soft but full of emotion and Tonks couldn't help herself upon hearing it. She launched herself at him and glued her lips to his in a passionate kiss as they both went tumbling over backwards. The kiss was brief though as Harry's head smacked hard into the ground making him groan into her mouth, which she quickly released when she realized what she had done.

She practically scrambled to stand and pull Harry from the floor before seating him and looking his head over frantically to make sure he was alright. When she was satisfied he was fine, ignoring his surprised squawk of indignation as she went through his hair, she promptly sat in his lap, draping her legs over the arm rest and wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him into another kiss that lasted until they were both breathless.

It was a clearing of a throat that brought Tonks' and Harry's attention back to Ragnok who had an amused expression on his face.

"I see Lord Potter's method was quite… effective," Ragnok said, his amusement clear in voice as well.

Tonks blushed furiously as her hair went back to its usual pink as she gingerly stood from Harry's lap and went back to her own chair. She moved it to be right next to Harry's though and took his left hand in her right, drawing a brief happy smile at her from him.

"I apologize for my behavior Chief Director," Tonks told the now smirking goblin who could tell she was really wasn't.

"Your words are appreciated," Ragnok said while nodding at her slightly, letting her know that her apology was just for formality sake. "And I must say I am impressed at the quick change from your earlier condition Young Auror. Whatever Lord Potter did was most impressive, especially as it seems that sphere disappeared when the magic within was released."

"Thank you for the compliment Chief Director," Harry said with a grin, "However, I must say that what I used is something only several people know about and as far as I know, I am the only one who can create those spheres anyways."

"It is still fascinating to see, Lord Potter. However, as you said earlier today, you came here to obtain a summary of your accounts correct?" Ragnok stated.

"I did indeed," Harry started, "However, at this current time I'm a bit more curious as to the wills that left me with the titles Lord Potter and Lord Black. Actually, I should probably see my parents' wills as well since the only thing I've ever been told about them was that I was left my trust vault by them."

"That will be a simple thing to look into Lord Potter once Snarlfang returns. However, before he does I must ask if you know what those two rings on your right hand mean?"

Harry was caught slightly off guard by the question but knew that the odd ring he knew nothing about started to glow when he had brought the other girls' memories back. Placing his right hand on the table, he realized that the two rings were already visible.

"The ring with the badger and griffin denotes my ability to use the votes from the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor lines. Both lines married into the Potter line at one point while their main lines that carried their names died out a long time ago. The other ring I'm afraid I don't know anything about except that it showed up when I claimed my inheritance." Harry said.

"I see," Ragnok said with a frown. "Whatever that ring's purpose is, it is tremendously powerful Lord Potter. I caution you in letting people even know you hold a ring that makes the power behind the Lordship rings look small."

Harry blinked at the warning and looked at the ring in question briefly. He already knew it was powerful since the magic in it felt like the Resurrection Stone's, but he was mostly surprised a goblin could feel the magic as well. Saying nothing of the level of power though, as being able to sense magic was a hard earned skill, one that he shouldn't have at his current age, he nodded at the goblin to let him know he understood the warning.

It was then that Snarlfang came back into the room with the four guards carrying two files stuffed full of papers.

"Where are the assistants to the Potter and Black accounts?" Ragnok asked immediately seeing the lack of the two unidentified goblins.

Snarlfang did his namesake and snarled at the mention of the assistants.

"Those fools tried to destroy several documents in Bloodhook's and Gripclaw's offices when we arrived. They and all the personnel working under them, Bloodhook, and Gripclaw, as well as their families and clans are being arrested to be interrogated as requested for your audit Chief Director. Unfortunately we did have to kill the underling Griphook as he tried to fight off your guards when he was detained so we cannot question him," Snarlfang growled out as he took his previous seat. "These two files are the ones that those mongrels tried to destroy. Inside are several wills, and transactions that do not make sense."

"Thank you Snarlfang," Ragnok said as the files were passed over to him from the other goblin. "You shall be rewarded for your quick actions in dealing with those traitors."

It was several minutes later though that Ragnok had found the wills mentioned and was surprised that they were the ones that Lord Potter has asked for specifically. Thankfully they were only copies, meaning the originals still resided in the main vault for each account. He passed these to Harry to read while he kept looking through the files.

The first one he had found was that of Lord Arcturus Black, and while brief, it explained a lot as to how Harry became the new Lord Black. It was because Sirius was in prison and that even though he hadn't been given a trial, Arcturus was hesitant to make him his heir as he had no idea when he would either be released or given a trial so made his Godson the new heir instead. On top of that, Arcturus didn't want any 'snooty French upstart' to gain the title from his family and had already disowned Draco Malfoy and any of his descendants from the Black line and any chance at inheriting the title of Lord Black.

One of the codicils that came in early January in 1991 though was for his new heir to bring back in Andromeda Tonks to the Black line. It further explained that she had only been temporary banished from the family, something that Arcturus regretted immensely as he saw what became of her sisters, because he was not sure how well Ted Tonks would fit in with the Black family. He had brought up the papers to bring Andromeda's entire family back in once Tonks graduated from Hogwarts after he had learned she was a metamorphagus but his early death had been before that time.

Harry promptly signed the papers that brought Andromeda, her husband Ted, and Tonks back into the Black line, much to Tonks' happiness.

His parents' wills were much the same as he expected but he did note that they had been made and filed several days after he had been born. There was no mention of Clarice in them at all, which made him frown slightly as he was sure they would have sent in a codicil at least. The oddest part for him in reading his parents' wills was on his mother's as the list of guardianship actually did mention his aunt as a potential candidate. There were stipulations for that though in that she must be divorced from Vernon and must be screened by a healer prior to being given guardianship.

The final wills he saw though was from his grandparents. Like Arcturus' will, this left him with a title as well as the majority of the Potter's wealth. He was a little surprised to learn how much land he actually owned as he wasn't aware of it in the last timeline, but what was more surprising was that the land itself was either mostly undeveloped and only three places had actual houses on them. One such piece of land was one he was already familiar with as it was an island a hundred miles off the coast of Spain. It was the island he had taken his family to prior to the Witch Hunt happening.

Near the end of the will however was the point he was looking for the most. That point was where Minnie had been willed specifically to him when he accepted his inheritance.

Tonks' mouth had hung open in shock for several minutes once she had read that part of the will and Harry had chuckled slightly at her reaction. It was one he was sure that would be repeated with the rest of his and Neville's loves when they found out.

After that though, Harry didn't have anything left to do at the bank at that current time. Ragnok had said that he would personally oversee the audit of the Potter and Black accounts, and would have a report ready for Harry by the end of the school year. Harry _had _managed to get a pouch filled with three hundred Galleons. It was much more than what he would need for a while, but as this was the last approved transaction from _any _of his accounts, he figured it would be worth it.

Shortly after Harry had received the pouch and had placed it in one of his pockets, he and Tonks left the bank with Harry pulling up his hood once more.

"So," Harry started quietly once they were outside the bank and headed, "Now that your memories are back and that problem back there is taken care of, care to explain your needs for the loans?"

Tonks took a brief look at the cloaked face of Harry, before looking at the ground.

"It's nothing really important Harry," Tonks said quietly.

"I'd say it is Tonks," Harry said with a little amusement in his voice, "Especially as it was enough to distract you to the point of kneeing me in the tackle."

Tonks couldn't help the small chuckle at the brief memory, though sobered quickly. It was silent between them all the way to Flourish and Botts where they stopped just outside its window.

"Tonks," Harry said softly again once they stopped. Her silence was starting to unnerve him slightly, especially as her hair went from its normal pink back to its original mousy brown.

"During the first timeline, I tried to strike out on my own as soon as I could," Tonks started suddenly without looking at Harry. "I was a typical rebellious kid, and went against a lot of what my parents wanted for me. They helped me get my flat at first once I graduated and helped with the payments while I was going through the Auror Academy. When I joined the Order of the Phoenix the first time, my mom was furious with me. She didn't care that I wanted to learn more about Sirius and actually try and do something. We had a horrific fight and I don't really remember what was said between us, just that I stormed out of their house after being told they wouldn't help me with my payments for my flat anymore. I didn't think it was that bad at the time until I realized exactly how much help they were actually giving me as my pay as a Junior Auror isn't that great. I tried taking out loans to cover the payments but the goblins decided that I couldn't take anymore. Today was the day that I to take a loan out from the Black accounts to pay off all the other loans as I have both the Black family blood in me and a unique trait. Gripclaw was the one who denied me saying that it didn't matter as my mom's entire line was banished and that I had no hope of ever being able to come back into the Black family."

By the time she was done her eyes were tearing slightly as her shoulder shook with suppressed sobs. She felt an arm wrap itself around her shoulders and in an instant she had turned and buried her head in Harry's chest as the sobs escaped her control. Harry's other arm came up and rubbed her back softly as he let her cry.

He knew from many times having held his other loves in the same way when memories became too much for them in the first time line. Not to mention how much he had wished for someone to be able to do the same for him while he wandered space. It was just something that everyone needed now and then, a good cry and someone to hug them.

It was several minutes later before Tonks managed to regain most of her control though her eyes were still misty.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled as she pulled back from him and used the sleeve of her robe to wipe her eyes.

"It's alright Tonks," Harry said softly, lifting her chin up with a finger. "You have nothing to worry about now this time around, and I'll make damn sure you and Andromeda reconnect."

Tonks smile ruefully at that before saying, "I wonder what her reaction will be to me going home and smothering her in hugs and telling her I'm done with the Order."

"Probably extreme relief followed by her chewing you out, then finally breaking down crying and smothering you right back with hugs," Harry said with a grin as he moved and open the door to the book store.

"Is that 'The voice of experience' I hear?" Tonks teased as she entered with Harry following.

"More times than I wish to remember," Harry snorted as they looked around the store for Hermione, Neville, and Minnie.

They found them about a minute into their search and Harry couldn't help but smile at the sight. Hermione had a small stack of books in her arms already, while Neville had a larger stack with an amused grin on his face. Minnie was with the two with several books tucked under an arm while shaking her head and smiling at Hermione as she was looking at the shelves of books.

"You know," Harry said slightly loud, startling the three where they almost dropped the piles they were carrying, "Considering what most of us know, I didn't think you'd want this many books."

"You can never know too much and it's always good to have references as well," Hermione said back as she straightened her posture and tried to look down her nose at Harry.

And it was most definitely a try as she couldn't stop the grin that spread on her face after a few seconds with a few giggles added in. The grin just got wider as she realized Tonks was there with Harry.

"Well this is a most surprising but most welcome event," Minnie said with a small smile as she attempted to maintain her 'professor' demeanor.

She just got a raised eyebrow from Tonks before she asked, "I'm sure you thought the same thing when Harry claimed his inheritance eh?"

Minnie blushed furiously at the ribbing and stuck out her tongue at the metamorph. The others chuckled are her 'mature' response.

"So onto Ollivander's now after these are paid for?" Neville asked with a smile once the chuckling had stopped. It was obvious to the others that as much as Neville didn't actually _need_ the wand, he was looking forward to actually owning a wand suited to him instead of his fathers. Not to mention he wouldn't run the risk this time of having his dad's old wand destroyed.

It wasn't long after that that the group was outside Ollivander's after having bought the books which were now shrunken down in Harry's pocket.

The wand shop was just as dusty as Harry remembered it from so many years ago. Just like before too, it seemed like there was no one there as Neville went up to the counter and rang the bell on the counter. Almost instantly after he had done that however, his hand shot out to the right side of the counter and his hand grasped tightly on what looked like air.

The other's blinked at Neville's action until a figure slowly came into existence where his hand was, the hand in question grasped tightly around the figure's throat. As the figure gained more definition, all of them realized it was Ollivander who Neville was strangling.

"Oops, sorry about that," Neville said as he let go of the wand maker once he was fully visible again.

"That is quite all right Mr. Longbottom. I am quite surprised by your ability to sense my particular form of invisibility," Ollivander said with a slight cough as he rubbed his neck.

Neville scratched the back of his head while blushing slightly, not really knowing what to say to that.

"Um… I've been a bit jumpy lately and I'm not really sure how I sensed you," Neville said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. The others knew he was lying through his teeth but they weren't going to refute it.

"Curious," Ollivander said as his breath finally came back under control. He glanced briefly at the group, no emotion other than curiosity showing on his face. "Very curious indeed. It is quite a surprise to see such a group in my shop. What may I ask is the purpose of such a gathering?"

"Mr. Longbottom here has brought it to my attention he is using his father's wand and that it is an unsuitable match. With the OWLs around the corner, I would prefer for Mr. Longbottom to be at the top of his game as it were," Minnie said smoothing with her face still stern.

"Yes, yes, that is quite reasonable. The wand chooses the witch or wizard after all," Ollivander said before promptly moving into the back of the shop. He was gone not more than thirty seconds before coming back with a stack of boxes filled with wands.

"Well, shall we get started Mr. Longbottom? I am most intrigued to see if you are as difficult as _some_ of my customers have proven to be," Ollivander asked with a brief look at Harry, obviously remembering the long process to find Harry his wand. Harry just grinned at the odd man remembering the time as well.

Neville could only grin in response while nodding like a bobble head doll in excitement. It was on his fifth wand that the right one shot sparks from the tip. Both Harry and Neville were quite surprised by the pulse of magic they felt wash over them when the right wand had been found. They had discretely looked at each other when it had happened, both thinking the same thing that _that_ was probably how Ollivander was able to tell which wand was right for the user.

"Good, good Mr. Longbottom. A very suitable match I must say, thirteen inches, cherry, with unicorn hair for a core," Ollivander said with a creepy smile.

The old man was gathering up the untested wands when Harry decided it was best to warn the wand maker.

"Mr. Ollivander, I have a question for you," Harry said, getting him to stop was he was doing to look at Harry with a raised eyebrow. He didn't say anything in response, waiting for Harry to continue.

"I was wondering if you believed what the profit was saying about me, and about the return of the Dark Lord?" Harry asked. As much as he would have preferred to have said Voldemort, even more so to say Riddle or Tom, he was well aware of how most people still reached to the anagram. Not to mention he didn't want to deal with people scolding him for saying the name or having to pause ask they shrieked, gasped, or shivered.

Ollivander starred at Harry for about a minute in silence, his expression blank as he contemplated his answer.

"I make it somewhat of a rule to never fully believe what any publication states, Mr. Potter. Also, while I am quite aware of the… slant… the Ministry puts on things; I must say I cannot make a decision one way or the other between their statements, and the most intriguing interview you gave to the Quibbler."

"I figured as much," Harry said with a forced sigh and slumping of the shoulders, "Well, regardless of that, I was hoping you could explain to me what happened at the end of the third task last year. You see, during the 'duel,' if you could call it that, with the Dark Lord, there was this strange effect when our spells met. I was using a disarming hex and he the killing curse, and as much as I know the latter cannot be blocked the two spells stopped each other in their tracks. It was the effect after that has me curious."

Harry paused briefly to take a breath and gauge the wand maker's reaction. His blank expression had become one of curiosity at the mention of the killing curse being stopped by a disarming hex. Idly Harry wondered what the old man would think if he told him he had seen a killing curse rebounded by a disarming hex.

"You see, when the two spells connected, this ball of light formed where they met. From this ball of light a giant golden cage came to life around us and what sounded like phoenix song started to resonate within the cage. I asked Professor Dumbledore about it, and he muttered what I think was Prior Enchantment," Harry finished, purposefully not saying the words right.

His attempt at lying obviously paid off though as Ollivander's face paled and his mouth was open slightly in shock.

"_Priori Incantatem," _Ollivander whispered as if the words were cursed.

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, making the old man jump slightly, "That's what the professor said. He didn't explain to me what it was and told me not to worry about it at all."

"The effect that you explained Mr. Potter is a very rare effect between brother wands," Ollivander said as if in a daze, "In all my life I have only ever heard of a few events of such a thing happening. "It is very rare to find wands with the donor for their core, and even more rare for the wands to meet in a duel. Nothing else, Mr. Potter, could have convinced me more to your claims about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Harry and the other's put on an awed look for the old wizard. Well four were faked; Tonks' was genuine as she hadn't really heard this part of Harry's life.

After a couple seconds silence, Harry scrunched up his as if in thought suddenly before asking, "What would it mean then when I forced the little ball of light where our spells met back into his wand? I mean, when I did, I saw ghost like images of the last several people he'd killed… including my parents."

_Finally_ a reaction came from the old man as he paled drastically and placed a hand on the counter to keep his now shaking knees from making him collapse.

"Y-You forced his magic to submit to yours…" Ollivander stuttered out in a tone that was both a statement and a question. Harry just nodded and waited for Ollivander to regain his composure. His comment confirmed a couple of theories he had in response to the use of wands between him and Riddle. It would also explain why Riddle became obsessed with the Death Stick as it was the only one that could subvert Riddle's magic focused through a wand being weaker than Harry's.

It was a long several minutes before the old man got more color back to his cheeks and his shaking to stop. When he had, Harry decided to lay the warning they had intended in the first place.

"That's good to know Mr. Ollivander about what happened. I was concerned that the Dark Lord had already found out what the cage meant or at least was searching for an answer to it. Since you made and sold both wands, I'm glad to say I got to ask you first," Harry said with a pleased grin.

The paling again Ollivander would never know it was because he had gotten another rise out of the wand maker.

"O-Of course Mr. Potter. I'm very glad you brought this to me first as well…" Ollivander trailed off as he looked back into his shop with a slight glaze to his eyes. He was silent for several seconds before turning back to the group with clear and sharp eyes.

"Is there anything else I can do for you or your group Mr. Potter?" Ollivander asked, slightly strained. They all knew it was because he _really_ wanted to get the hell out of his shop now.

"Actually," Minnie said, drawing the old man's gaze, "Mr. Potter brought up a good point. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will likely try and figure out the effect of that cage eventually and it would be wise to get word to the other wand makers of note, especially those who know of the effect of brother wands. Also, Mr. Ollivander, is there anything that _could_ possibly bypass the restrictions You-Know-Who now has on using wands?"

Ollivander had started when she had mentioned informing other wand makers. He was surprised but grateful for the reminder that he wasn't the only person in the profession. Her question though made him pause as he thought over an answer. His mind immediately went to the legend of the Deathly Hallows but discarded it when it first popped up.

Thinking further though, the thought of the Death Stick from the Hallows kept creeping back into his thoughts.

"There is a possible solution," Ollivander said very carefully and slowly, "However it mostly a myth. There is a wand that exists in legend of immense power. It is part of a set of items called the Deathly Hallows, and the wand specifically is most commonly referred to as the Death Stick considering the history attached to it. If You-Know-Who was to somehow find and master this Hallow, he could bypass the submission of his magic focused through a wand."

"I know that story," Neville said, his face in a frown, "Actually I can't think of any one brought up in the magical world not knowing of that story. Perhaps you should pass on the possibility of the Dark Lord searching for the Hallow to your colleagues as well, just as a precaution?"

"A wise suggestion Mr. Longbottom," Ollivander said with a nod to Neville, "Now, if that will be all, I find myself wanting to travel all of a sudden."

The entire group just grinned as they left the shop at Ollivander's small attempt at humor.

"I guess it's time we get back to Hogwarts then?" Hermione asked as they walked towards a shadowed area.

"For you, Neville, Minnie, and me yes," Harry answered, "Tonks probably has to get back to work."

The metamorph grunted in irritation at the reminder, but smiled when Minnie hip checked her softly so she bumped into a grinning Harry.

"Yes, I have to get back to work. Then figure out how to convince my mum that I'm done with the Order," Tonks said, her tone slightly glumly at the end.

"Don't worry about it Tonks," Harry said with a small smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders again. "After all, you have the reinstatement papers as a good will gift. And since they are 'signed' with the seal from the signet ring, she won't know it's me that's the new Lord Black. Though, I would probably talk to Sirius before you talk to her. I'm not sure how long he'll be passed out from how much he drank when we told him about the first time line."

"Oh that should be fun," Tonks said with a slightly evil grin and a mischievous gleam in her eye. It made the others chuckle wondering what Tonks would do to the drunk Sirius.

It was shortly after that that the group said their goodbyes to Tonks, who got a gentle kiss on the lips from Harry, and hugs and a kiss on the cheek from the others. Shortly after Tonks had Apparated out, the others made sure no one was watching as they all made sure to grab hold of Harry before they vanished silently from Diagon Alley and reappeared back in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory.

Upon arriving, luck seemed to be on their side as they waited for several minutes in silence to see if anyone was knocking on the door. They had been gone quite some time and had all be slightly concerned that someone would have tried to gain access to the room. Granted, they couldn't tell if someone had tried to enter while they were gone since they had forgotten to place a spell to alert them if that was the case.

Harry unsealed the room once they were sure no one was trying to enter before they left in stages again. First to leave was Minnie, then Hermione, Neville, and Harry respectively.

When Harry finally came down the stairs into the common room, he saw it was empty minus Neville and Hermione and now him. Casting a quick _Tempus_ he found out why as it was already dinner. The trio promptly left to head to the great hall to get some food while they discussed what Hermione had found for books to read.

The conversation continued up until they reached the great hall where it changed to be about possibilities for the OWLs. It was a decent subterfuge as most ignored them, and internally the three were laughing as they already knew what was going to be on the OWLs in the first place. To their mild surprise, Ron wasn't there in the hall.

"Hey Dean, where's Ron?" Neville asked as the three found a place to sit near their year mate. He was across from Hermione and Harry as was usual, and as of late as well, was the only one who could say Ron's name without snarling.

"Oh hey, there you three are. We were wondering what was taking so long with Professor McGonagall. Ron's actually in the Hospital Wing as he's been puking up a storm. He ate a candy from his pocket while we were playing chess and well… he's been in there ever since. I think it was one of his brother's inventions and it spoiled," Dean answered lightly with a grin while looking at the three curiously.

"McGonagall wanted me to tutor Harry and Neville some to raise their grades for their desired professions and to make sure they get the OWLs needed for them," Hermione stated the second Dean finished.

Harry was slightly amazed at Hermione' s on the spot lie and he had to keep himself from gawking as Dean simply said "Ah" and nodding before turning back to talk with Seamus.

Harry and Neville shared a look then before looking at Hermione who blushed slightly under their wide eyes stares. Most who had heard what she had said took it as them being embarrassed instead of shocked that she had managed to lie and have someone believe it.

After that, the three maintained the charade they had on earlier about their OWL discussion. It was further added to when Lavender and Parvati came up to Neville and asked him about help for the Herbology portion once they had sat near the group. Katie had shown up at some point while poking Harry in his sides making him jump slightly before 'offering' her support in knowledge to the others as well. This had prompted her friend Leanne who had been with her to join the conversation before Angelina and Alicia joined as well. Though, Angelina and Alicia were 'grilled' for information from Katie and Leanne about the NEWTs they were taking as well. Both Hermione and Neville started to talk more then and Harry couldn't help but look around the room to search for his and Neville's loves.

His first look was at the Slytherin table and he quickly saw Astoria sitting between Tracey and Daphne, the three leaning in together and whispering about something. They maintained rather indifferent expressions, though each nodded briefly to him when he caught their eyes.

Pansy was a little ways away from them sitting next to Draco who was talking with his bookends and Nott. She actually looked quite disinterested in whatever they were talking about until she caught Harry's eyes. Her face went from indifferent, to confusion, to curiosity, to a sneer, before she turned her head to look away from him, making him chuckle slightly.

At the Ravenclaw table he saw Padma sitting with the girls in their year and was talking with them. It looked like they were having a debate from how serious their faces looked, and Harry was quite amused at seeing Su Li being Padma's main competition. Looking briefly at Cho saw her trying to console Marietta Edgecombe, who was still wearing her shawl. He'd have to remind Hermione about that curse of hers later.

He frowned slightly when he didn't see Luna at Ravenclaw, but had to restrain a laugh when he did find her.

She was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, sitting directly across from Clarice, who looked nervous as she was sitting between Hannah and Susan. The two older Hufflepuff girls were obviously trying to get the girl to talk, and it looked like she replied to several things. Judging by the confused look on her face several times as well probably meant Luna was saying something in her 'Looney' persona to try and get the girl to relax around them.

From there he looked to the head table and saw that most teachers were already gone. The only ones still there were Professors Babbling, Vector, Sinistra, and Burbage. He frowned wondering where Minnie was as she had left first.

His answer quickly came as she entered rather stealthily through the doors to the great hall, only drawing attention from those near the doors to begin with. He watched her curiously as she first went to the Ravenclaw table and gently laid her hand on Cho's shoulder, startling the girl. Cho looked shocked at first and looked like she opened her mouth to retort something but Minnie's firm glare made her mouth clap shut. She looked subdued after that before gathering her things and leaving the hall. Marietta looked like she wanted to follow but another firm glare from Minnie had her staying in her seat.

The process repeated itself with Su Li, who looked horrified after whatever Minnie had said to her, before she too quickly grabbed her things and practically ran from the great hall.

It clicked for Harry then what Minnie was doing and he reached into his pocket to pull out all but one of the memory spheres. He discretely conjured a small bag under the table before he deposited his spheres in them. After that he gently nudged Neville and whispered to him to give him the spheres Neville had left.

Neville blinked for a few seconds before he looked where Harry nodded to Minnie and his expression changed to one of understanding. Soon his spheres were in the bag too and the two watched discretely as Minnie made her way to the Slytherin table.

Most of the talk seemed to stop at the Slytherin table as Minnie approached and as most of the students watched what she was doing. When she got to Pansy, she didn't do the same thing of placing a hand on her shoulder and instead it looked like she talked incredibly frankly with the girl.

Pansy obviously whined some response, quickly followed by a frosty glare and a sharp toned order from Minnie that had Pansy paling before following the other girls.

Draco obviously said something as Pansy left as Minnie's gaze became glacial as she leveled it on the blond. The ferret paled dramatically from the look alone and seemed to withdraw in on himself as he shrunk back from whatever Minnie was saying.

Everyone in the hall heard the tinkling of the crystals for House Points and looked up to see Slytherin now down a hundred and fifty points. They all turned gawking at where Minnie was standing over the shaking Slytherin, whether from rage or fear only those close to him could tell. The others from Slytherin though were looking at Draco with contempt as he said something again causing Slytherin to lose another fifty points and Minnie barking something at the blond while pointing at the door.

Draco practically fled from whatever it was that Minnie had said and ran from the great hall, much to most of the students' confusion. When Minnie's eyes met Harry's she had a wicked gleam in them that made Harry shudder slightly, especially as she was now making her way over to him.

When she did arrive, Harry was treated to a bit of embarrassment as she asked for the 'tools' she had given him to help with his 'transfiguration study.' He was blushing slightly as those around him giggled or chuckled as he handed the sack of memory spheres to Minnie. She thanked him with a grin, though still had the same gleam in her eye, and promptly left the Great Hall.

Harry chuckled slightly once she had left, furthering the embarrassment belief from those not in the know, before turning back to his food and the conversations about the OWLs. Once he had finished his food, Harry made sure his left hand was covering his right as he started to become a bit anxious. He already knew that when the girls were returned, his unknown ring would glow again, hence his covering it.

It was about ten minutes after he had finished that he felt the ring in question heat up and pulse with magic, as well as glow. The second it started, he clamped his left hand down over his right wondering why the heat and pulse happened in Hogwarts and not in Gringots when he had returned Tonks.

Regardless though, that was the signal he needed to know that the girls Minnie had talked to before were coming back soon. When the heat on the ring had stopped, as well as the pulse, he faked stretching though the yawn that accompanied it wasn't faked. It drew the attention of the others, stopping their conversations to look at him oddly, making him blush a bit from the attention.

"Err, sorry," Harry said sheepishly, "Guess I'm a bit worn out from all the studying."

"Well it _is_ your OWL year," Katie teased with a knowing grin. Leanne, Angelina, and Alicia had similar grins but Harry already knew theirs were for different reasons.

Looking at Hermione directly he then said, "I'm going to see if Professor McGonagall has anything to say about the aids I turned in. I should be back before curfew."

"I'll come with you. I have a couple questions for her anyways," Hermione said quickly as Harry started to stand. She followed suite a few seconds later after having said goodbye to those still staying.

Harry and Hermione's leaving was like letting the water free from a dam though as everyone started making their excuses to leave.

As the two were leaving though, Harry took a brief look around at the other tables again and saw that his and Neville girls were watching him leave. He nodded discretely to them all, minus when he glanced at the Hufflepuff table.

When he had looked at their table, he had caught Clarice looking at him with a curious expression while Luna, Susan, and Hannah had grins. He smiled and waved at the girl, still wondering if it was true that she was his sister. After his wave though, he noticed Susan lean in and whisper something to the girl and her eyes widened while her face blushed furiously. Harry could only guess what it was she had said before heading out of the hall with Hermione.

"You know," Hermione said quietly as they walked along the empty corridors, "We really need to find a way to make duplicates of those mirrors that you and Sirius have. Or maybe another set of Galleons that we can give to the others to let them know if we need to meet up again. It's getting harder to be subtle when all of us leave around the same time."

Harry frowned slightly at her remark thinking the same thing.

"You're right, especially now that Tonks is back too," Harry said after a while of thinking, "Not to mention it's going to get harder for Pansy, Astoria, Daphne, and Tracey being in Slytherin, especially Pansy."

Hermione looked at Harry oddly at that for a little bit before what Tracey had told her earlier came back to her. Draco was Pansy's version of her Ron and the notion alone made her scowl angrily as her thoughts turned dark. Harry's arm wrapping around her shoulder as they walked along in silence only helped make her scowl vanish. Her dark thoughts kept up for quite some time until Harry's presence finally calmed her down. Well, that and that they were outside the Transfiguration classroom finally.

Harry knocked on the door three times with his free arm and waited. When no one responded Harry chuckled slightly before saying, "I really need to teach Minnie the sealing spell. It seems she just has a standard silencing ward up that blocks all sound going in and out."

"Well that or get those ways of communication done," Hermione teased lightly, showing her mood improving. "We could even figure out a way to talk in our minds or something."

Hermione meant the comment as a joke but Harry's wide eyed look followed by him groaning and slamming his head into the door worried her.

"Uh, Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked hesitantly as she wrapped an arm around his waist. His arm was still wrapped around her shoulders and had dragged her slightly closer to the door when he had slammed his head against it.

"Yea, I'm fine," Harry groaned out as he turned his head against the door to look at her, "Your joke reminded me what I had been working on at the same time as the memory spheres. Well, it was more like a byproduct of the spheres and what I have in mind will work perfectly for staying in contact with everyone, especially with our Occulmency the way it is."

"How did teasing you about talking in our minds bring that up?" Hermione asked with slightly wide eyes.

"You'll see," Harry said with a cheeky grin, "For now though, we need to let them know we're here."

Hermione huffed in annoyance while Harry placed his hand on the door. She watched his hand closely as not sure what was going to happen. She heard him take a deep shaky breath though and when she looked back to his face notice he had a small smile but his eyes were closed. From the corner of his eyes, several tears escaped before he pulled his hand backed and wiped them off of his face.

"Harry?" Hermione asked concerned after seeing his tears.

"I'm fine. I just cast a patronus through the doors," Harry answered with a bit of wistfulness in his voice. "It's kind of a habit to use certain memories from the other timeline."

Seeing Hermione's face softening and her own eyes mist slightly he pulled her tighter to him and kissed her temple.

"Don't worry. I'm certain there will be more memories that will push those out of my mind," Harry whispered.

Hermione only nodded as she didn't trust her voice. Though it wasn't like she could answer though as the door they were in front of opened quickly and two arms reached out and grabbed her and Harry. Those arms then pulled the two of them in quickly, making them stumble slightly as they heard the doors closed behind them.

Harry didn't have any time to get his bearings or center of gravity back though as the second he had turned around he was slammed into by a black haired missile. Said missile then grabbed the back of his head and kissed him passionately with a set of feminine lips as his arms immediately wrapped around the woman's waist.

The clearing of a throat several seconds later made the woman break the kiss and allowed Harry to get a look at the woman kissing him. He grinned somewhat stupidly seeing who it was, though he already knew to begin with.

"Well hello to you too Cho," Harry said lightly.

"Prat," Cho said with her a slight scowl before she slapped his chest somewhat hard, "All of you waited almost a week before returning Pansy, Su, and I!"

Harry grimaced at her words slightly and as he opened his mouth to explain, she promptly silenced him with another kiss. This one didn't last as long but was just as passionate.

"But, I will have to say, that plan was rather brilliant," Cho said once she broke the kiss with a large grin on her face.

Harry chuckled at her antics before looking up to see a smiling Pansy and Su Li standing next to Minnie who had a hold of Hermione.

"Welcome back to you too ladies," Harry said in greeting the other two.

"I must say Potter, your plan was rather Slytherin when Minnie explained it to us," Pansy said in a serious tone though she had a slight smile.

"Ah come on Pansy. You stopped calling him Potter ages ago!" Su protested with a grin.

"Well, I have to keep up appearances here don't I? Besides, it's a bit hard to control some reactions still, not to mention I have an annoying headache from that sphere."

Harry started at that slightly before a frown showed on his face. The answer came to him quickly though and he face palmed with a sigh.

"You're one of the few who actually had decent mental shields at this point in time. You probably had them up as much as you could before you touched the sphere with your wand. If you have your barriers up that high, the memories coming in hurt like hell until you sort through all of them or take a potion to fix it," Harry said a little sheepishly. Pansy just glared at him with her eyebrow twitching.

"Wonderful," Pansy drawled, "Any other side effects we should be worried about?"

"Just the problems with control ingrained reactions. Oh, and having to go through puberty again," Harry said with a cheery voice at first, though grumbled the last sentence. Now it was Pansy, Cho, _and_ Su glaring at him.

"Hey! You asked!" Harry exclaimed in defense while Minnie and Hermione just chuckled lightly. They too got their share of glares for their amusement.

The glares stopped though as a knock happened on the door. Cho, Su, and Pansy quickly moved to where their bags were in seats near the front while Harry and Hermione moved to stand in front of Minnie's desk. Minnie waited until the seated girls were acting like they were writing lines before she opened the door, her stern look on her face.

"Hi Professor," Hannah's voice sounded in the room making the other's stop to turn and look. When they did they saw the other girls, plus Neville, all standing outside the door with grins on their faces as Minnie opened the door further and let them all in.

Once everyone had entered, Neville sealed the room again before he too was tackled by black haired missiles. After about a minute, Pansy and Su had stopped kissing him and he was chuckling just as Harry had done following Cho's greeting.

"Hi loves," Neville said with a cheeky grin while hugging Pansy's and Su's closer and kissing them briefly.

"This seems to be the standard greeting for the girls being returned," Harry said as the others chuckled at the trio's antics. "Guess Narcissa will be the deciding point."

The other's that hadn't gone to Grimmuald Place and Diagon Alley looked confused at what Harry had said.

"Doesn't Tonks still need to be brought back?" Tracey asked.

"Nope, she's back already," Hermione said with a smile at thinking of the metamorph having a second chance free from a potion induced reality.

"I thought that you'd only be talking with Sirius today though…" Tracey stated with a frown.

"Minnie, Hermione, Neville, and I did talk with Sirius but he ended up getting drunk before going to pass out," Harry replied. "We decided to get _some _small things done while we were out though since it didn't take as long as I thought when we talked to Sirius. We managed to warn Ollivander, get Neville his true wand, and I went to Gringots to see the wills for my inheritance. I met Tonks outside the bank doors or rather her knee met my bits."

The last part was grumble a bit, but Harry still had a grin on his face at the memory even if his loins cringed in phantom pain. Plus it was funny watching Neville wince and squirm a bit at the thought.

"Tonks kneed you in the groin as she exited Gringots?" Minnie asked in a deadpan with a stare to match.

"Not intentionally. She wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of her when she opened the doors and I was a bit startled when the door suddenly wasn't where I was expecting it to be," Harry said sheepishly.

"Well I sincerely hoped she didn't damage anything then. It would be _quite_ a shame if she did," Minnie said, her face still deadpanned though Harry saw her lips twitch slightly. He knew instantly she was playing a slight prank on the returned girls figuring she hadn't told them of her status as a concubine yet.

Cho, Pansy, and Astoria caught on instantly and looked at her curiously. That curiosity changed to wide eyed shock as the glamour around Minnie dropped to show her new look. The shock just got worse when the others chuckled as the three figured out what Minnie was, especially at Su's, "So _that's_ how you came back!"

"So what exactly _did _you learn about your inheritance when you went to the bank?" Minnie asked as the chuckling died down and the three newly returned women came back to reality.

"From the will's themselves, about as much as I expected actually," Harry started. "My grandfather left me his titles and the Potter estate as my grandmother had passed a couple months earlier and she had left half to him, and half to me. My mom and dad's left me everything they owned, especially as they actually filed separate wills and did the same as my grandmother with splitting what they had between me and the 'surviving spouse.' A shocker in my mom's will however was that she _did_ list Aunt Petunia as a guardian but she had to be divorced from Vernon and she had to have been checked out at St. Mungo's. The will of Arcturus Black though was the real surprise. It explained how he made me Heir Apparent instead of Sirius and that he left me in control of _everything_ for the Black family. That included with bringing back Andromeda and her family back into the Black family. Actually, one of the funnier points was that Arcturus fully disowned Draco from the Blacks and made it so none of his descendants could ever inherit anything."

Everyone was grinning at that news, though none so much as Astoria and Pansy as they had positively _evil_ grins on their faces.

"Outside of all this good news though, Hermione reminded about a problem we have," Harry started up again. "It's starting to get harder to contact each of us and not bring suspicion towards our group. Our interruption earlier with the toad is a prime example, though I must say I again, I'm in awe of Minnie's ability to crush said toad with paperwork."

He paused briefly for the chuckling to die down at his sally and Minnie's blush even though she had a triumphant look on her face.

"My guess is it has something to do with the mirror Sirius gave you?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Sort of," Harry replied while smiling at Daphne. She, Susan, Padma, Astoria, Su, and Pansy had gone over the shards of the mirror he had broken in the first time line to figure out how they had worked so they could reproduce the effect. They had succeeded for the most part, and the result had been integrated into the watches they had all worn. It wasn't quite as elegant though since they couldn't get all the runes and charms right because the mirror had been shattered.

Turning to Neville briefly, Harry asked, "Remember when I talked about working on something similar to the memory spheres?" Neville cocked his head to the side in thought for a few seconds before nodding once he got the memory.

"Well then this should be bit more impressive than what I did with the spheres then," Harry said with a grin as he held out his right hand, palm up.

He closed his eyes then and focused on the magic coming from him, the others in the room, and the ambient magic radiating from the walls of the castle. Gently he extended his focus farther to sense the entire castle and all of the beings that were residing in it. His senses went further still until he met the intersecting veins of pure magic beneath the castle. With his senses expanded, he touched on all of them briefly as he drew the vast amount of magic towards his hand.

The other's watched in awe as Harry's aura erupted from his body the second he closed his eyes. They all felt the gentle touch followed by the pull on their magic as whatever Harry was doing started. The awe turned to shock as slowly a brown leather pouch appeared in his hand. All of them could tell that it was conjured but they were all shocked when they somehow felt Harry remove all the magic from the pouch itself, making it permanent. Further still, all the magic pulled from the pouch was being pulled towards the inside of the pouch and they watched curiously as the pouch was filled with several round objects. They shifted every few seconds as it seemed more were made, and what was inside sounded almost like glass.

It was almost five minutes later that the pull on their magic faded and Harry opened his eyes with a grin.

"This is our answer to staying in contact," Harry declared proudly as he tossed the pouch in the air slightly before snatching as it fell to the ground.

He received a lot of raised eyebrows from the others as they waited for him to explain.

"Tough crowd," Harry grumbled slightly when no one said or asked anything.

"I don't see how a leather pouch can do much for staying in contact," Astoria drawled out.

Harry gave her his own deadpanned look, causing the other's to chuckle at his expression. With a sigh though, he reached into the pouch and pulled out what looked like a deep forest green pearl.

"_These_," Harry said as he held the pearl out in his hand while giving Astoria a slight glare, "Are our means of staying in discrete contact with each other."

"What exactly are they?" Hermione asked as she reached out and took the pearl in left her hand. The second she touched it though, it seemed to vanish into her skin before a small deep forest green dot appeared on the inside of her left wrist. It startled her and the others minus Harry.

"They're pearls, well sort of. They are made up of that same stuff the memory spheres. The difference though is that the magic in the sphere is condensed to some pretty extreme levels and encapsulated in a colored pearl, while the pearl has the runes needed for us to communicate," Harry said grinning widely.

"How did it get under my skin though?" Hermione asked nervously as she rubbed a thumb over where the dot had been. The glow had faded out of sight after a couple of seconds.

"Magic," was Harry's cheeky reply. She just glared in return meaning it wasn't a good enough answer.

"Fine fine," Harry placated with a grin. "The reason it's in your skin is how that Materia works. It needs to 'sync' with your core so to speak and it does it best while immersed in your skin. After a couple of days the pearl can be removed, without having to cut it out by the way, and placed in something that maintains skin contact, like a necklace, ring, or even earrings. You can actually have multiples of these things synced to you simultaneously it just takes Occulmency to sort out the different pearls."

"That still doesn't explain how they work," Pansy stated the obvious after his description.

"Right," Harry said before reaching into the bag and pulling out a handful of the pearls. "Everyone take one."

It took a couple minutes as the others grabbed a pearl and all of them ended up rubbing the spots where the dots were on their wrists.

"That's mildly disconcerting how that feels," Hannah said with a frown.

"No kidding," Susan agreed, "It's like feeling something crawling under your skin softly, and is just barely shy of being _too_ creepy."

"_It took me a while to figure out how to lessen that feeling not to mention make the pearls smaller. The originals were the size of a tennis ball and it felt like your wrist was being split in half as it faded into your skin," _Harry's voice sounded out suddenly and _very_ loud in their heads.

It was obvious that the others had heard Harry's voice as well, and had cringed at the volume, but Harry's lips hadn't moved at all. His grin turned sheepish at the disgruntled looks of the others.

"Sorry about that. I forgot that it was really loud the first time until you place a barrier to take care of the sound levels in your head," Harry said ruefully, actually speaking the words.

Several of the girls were rubbing their temples as they nodded in agreement, their thoughts coming through loudly as they grumbled in thought at the pain. All of them heard the grumbling clear as day and Harry was cringing as a couple of threats came through about retribution for not warning them. It was clear they all started to get their barriers up though, or at least partial ones as the grumble subsided and they stopped rubbing their temples.

"So this is what my comment about speaking mentally made you remember," Hermione said as she looked at him curiously.

"Yep," Harry said with a grin. "The really cool part about the pearls though is like I said earlier, you can have multiple ones. I actually got the idea for the pearls from a game that had a sort of similar method for distribution. There was a limitation in the game though and that was that while you could carry several of the pearls, you could only use one at a time. One of the things that got me thinking about it being an effective tool was that the game had a couple modes of communication. There was a general one where everyone could hear, sort of like how I'm speaking now and a larger amount if I were to yell now that I think about it. The next general one was through the pearl where a whole slew of other people could hear you; and finally they had a method that was a single person to a single person, sort of like a phone. The different methods got me thinking of using Occulmency to act as a filter for the different forms of conversation and so you could have multiple pearls, though once one is synced you could do the same thing as the game did and remove the pearl from having skin contact. "

He took great pride in seeing everyone else's jaw drop at his description of what the pearls did. It was something he had spent a lot of time on, and had used several times on the planets he had visited. The reaction was always the same, but seeing his family have the same one just made him smile.

"These are absolutely amazing," Minnie said in awe as she stared at her wrist, thinking of the possibilities. "If you had shown these instead of your theories to Professor Babbling, she'd be putting you forward for your Mastery. Actually, Septima and Fillius would probably do the same, and I might actually do so anyways as the conjuration of these pearls is amazing."

"And the uses," Susan said suddenly with wider eyes as a thought occurred to her. "Aunty would absolutely love these things!"

"And I plan on sharing them with her when I can," Harry said with a grin. "There's actually a defense mechanism in place for the pearls as well. The pouch itself is synched to me and only I can pull a pearl from it. On the inside too are the runes that pull in ambient magic to conjure the pearls that are in there, giving it a constant thirty pearls in the pouch at all times. The other defense though is that I can break any pearl that I've given out if I feel it's been compromised. I can make one for Amelia to use and she can distribute the pearls before each mission and then destroy them once it's over."

Susan was in front of Harry instantly and had enveloped in a hug as she covered his face in kisses while saying 'Thank you!' over and over again. The other's chuckled at her reaction though they all had smiles on their faces.

"You said there could be multiple pearls synced to a person right?" Neville asked once Susan had stopped smothering Harry.

"Yeah, as many as a person wants."

"Well, I'm thinking we can use these pearls you just gave as our general contact line, but we could use a couple other sets for well…" Neville said but trailed off at the end not sure how to say what he wanted while he blushed slightly.

It took Harry a little bit to figure out what Neville was eluding to, but finally the blushing gave it away. Chuckling slightly, Harry held out both palms and followed the same process as before. When two knew pouches were formed, he tossed the one in his right to Neville who almost dropped it in surprise at first.

The second Neville opened the pouch though, he felt a pull on his magic that tied the bag to him. It made his younger body start a bit at the feeling, making him grumble in his head about stupid developing teenage bodies. When he looked in though, he couldn't help but grin at the sight. The pearls were there like he knew they would be, but the pearls color was different. They were deep amber, the same color that his eyes glowed if he remembered correctly. Looking up he saw Harry wink at him as he motioned for his own loves to take the new pearls he had made, the girls having figured out what Neville wanted as well. His suspicion for the color of his pearls was confirmed when he saw that the ones Harry were handing out were that same sickly emerald color that Harry's eyes glowed when he taped into his power. It was short work after that to hand out his pearls to his own loves after that.

"Well now that that's taken care of," Minnie started as Neville was handing out his pearls and after she had taken one of Harry's new ones. "We should all be heading to bed. It's getting close to curfew again and we don't need to bring any more attention towards us for now."

The other's nodded in agreement.

"I'll make sure Tonks get's her set of pearls tomorrow. If possible, I'll try and bring Narcissa back as well and giver her hers as well," Harry said as he thought about their lack of ability to make full fledged plans yet.

Well, not lack of ability, just concern for not having the last of their group together. Not to mention they wanted to make sure they _all_ gave made and understood the plans, just like they had after the Witch Hunt in how they brought together all of their stories and pieced the large, horror filled picture together.

Everyone had made sure to stagger their exits again, though slightly closer this time, to make sure they had enough time to get back to their common rooms. It was not long after that that Harry was back in his dorm room, Dean and Seamus already their chatting lightly and Neville already in bed since he had left earlier. He paid them no mind as he got ready for bed, but couldn't help but grin as he thought about what awaited tomorrow.

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><p><strong>AN:** Again, sorry for the delay. This chapter was giving me issues, especially the bank scene. I feel things happened a bit quickly in it, but I am by no means finished with dealing with Gringots, which should hopefully be obvious. Hopefully everyone enjoyed what I did though as I felt it was a bit different from what others have written, but I won't say that it's unique.

I do have to give special congratulations to those who've picked up some of the references I've made in some of the chapters. A sort of nice thing if anyone cares to actually try, there _are _going to be similar references to a lot of different things that aren't part of the Harry Potter world.


	7. CH6: Once More Into the Breach

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not cannon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N: ** Not much to say for this chapter except, FINALLY! I know it's been a while but I haven't forgotten about it. Also, a quick note for this chapter is that I very much recommend people read the recommended story. More will make sense about how this chapter ends, or at least you'll have an idea where I'm going if you read the story.

**Recommended Story: **"More than Familiar" by grenouille7777. The story will speak for itself as it is an interesting enough read. I've taken a concept from this story specifically and while as always I'll be adding my own spin on things, I must give credit to the story that got the idea in my head and how to make it work.

**CHAPTER SIX: Once More In To the Breech**

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><p><strong>Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland; Gryffindor Tower<strong>

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996; 2:49AM**

Harry was roused from his sleep suddenly as someone screaming his name sounded loud and clear. His eyes snapped open instantly as he tapped into his power and immediately sent out his senses all throughout the school.

The giggling that sounded in his head a few seconds later made him pause, however.

"_You're so cute when you're worked up Harry,"_ a melodic yet slightly spacey voice echoed in Harry's thoughts.

It took him several more seconds for his brain to process the voice in his head as well as to get his mind working normally. When his brain was mostly working again, the identity of the voice came to him.

"_Good morning to you too Luna,"_ Harry thought as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he pulled his senses back, "_Why am I not surprised you are the first one to get used to the pearls and decided to wake me up like that?"_

"_Mostly just because I can,"_ Luna's voice said and Harry could _hear_ the grin she was more than likely sporting right then. "_And it's not too hard to figure out how to separate the feelings of each pearl or how to send individual thoughts. Well, not hard for how I normally see things anyways."_

Harry could only chuckle at the cheery blond as his became more aware of his surroundings. There was no light in the dorm room and for once there wasn't any sound from his snoring roommate. Curious, he poked his head out of his curtains and looked at where Ron was supposed to be but found the curtains open and no sign of anyone having slept in the bed.

His first reaction was to be apprehensive and nervous, especially since everything he remembered about the redhead had nothing to do with cleanliness or early rising. Then what Seamus had said the night before came back to him and he chuckled again.

"_Serves the bastard right,"_ he thought with a grin.

"_Did Ronald do something… again?"_ Luna asked, her spacey tone giving way to disdainful curiosity.

"_More like ate something. Seamus told us he ate a candy from his pocket yesterday and soon after started puking horribly to the point he needed to go see Poppy,"_ Harry replied as he cast a quick Tempus to check the time. He stared at the numbers floating in front of him for several seconds in disbelief.

"_Luna, is there a reason you woke me up at 3 in the morning?"_

"_I couldn't sleep…"_ Luna said, her voice coming through very soft but also very guarded. Warning bells went off for Harry at her tone.

"_Is everything all right?"_

"_Sort of…" _Luna's voice said before a sigh echoed across the pearl, "_Can… can you meet me at the entrance to the Chamber?"_

"_I'll see you there,"_ Harry replied back as he was already getting out of bed and dressing rapidly. Luna very rarely sounded the way she had. It was barely a minute later that he was dressed in casual clothes and looking at the room once more. His eyes had adjusted to the absence of light quickly, so he could see the others in his dorm. Dean and Seamus had their curtains opened slightly and were in random positions on their beds. Neville's curtains were closed and Harry could feel the magic in the small wards he had placed around his bed.

No one had moved or woken up at him moving around getting dressed, meaning Neville had his silencing ward up as though he hadn't made a lot of noise it was enough to wake Neville if he hadn't had the ward up. Once he was certain no one else in his dorm was awake he pictured the girls' bathroom on the second floor and the time it took to blink, he was standing outside of it.

Immediately he sent out his senses to search for presences and registered only the magic sustaining Myrtle. He stepped within the bathroom right after that, and hid in the darker shadows of the bathroom that had a clear view of the door. The silence was slightly unnerving to his younger body, but mentally it didn't bother Harry at all, though he did have to keep his body from subconsciously moving from foot to foot in anxiousness.

It was about six minutes later that his senses picked up Luna's unique signature entering the bathroom. She looked around briefly before her eyes locked onto where Harry was 'hiding' in the shadows. It was about a second after that that she ran to where Harry was and wrapped her arms around his midsection while she buried her head into his chest. Harry immediately wrapped his arms around her shoulders and felt her trembling as he held her in the hug.

The trembling started to fade the second he had his arms around her. It was quiet enough that if Luna had been crying he'd be able to hear her, but as it was, she was just trembling. It was about a minute later when Harry felt Luna take a deep breath before he heard her let it out slowly.

Her arms tightened around him after she let out her breath before she leaned back from his embrace to look up at him. She was smiling at him and her eyes were focused on his with clarity in them that only a few ever saw or even knew about. "Thanks Harry," Luna said, her smile getting larger.

"Feeling better now?" Harry asked with a slight frown. While he was quite happy to see her, he was still concerned for how she sounded earlier.

"Very much so, thanks," Luna replied before burying her face into his chest again.

"Luna…" Harry started, his tone firming but still staying soft.

"I'm fine Harry, really. Or do I need to use my normal methods of proving that what I'm saying is true?" Luna reassured him as she leaned back again, her smile turning into a slight smirk.

Harry couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped or the rueful grin that appeared on his face.

"Alright, I give," Harry said softly before he pulled her into another hug tightly, "But that still doesn't make me any less concerned. Something was wrong enough earlier for you to wake me up and ask to meet me here."

He felt Luna sigh into his chest again as her shoulders slumped slightly. The move only made him tighten his hold on her as leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'm here for you, just as much as all of you ladies have been there for me before," he said softly.

"We know, and that's one of the many reasons we all love you," Luna said just as softly before the two fell into a comfortable silence. It was maybe five minutes later before Luna stepped back from Harry's embrace, her smirk replaced with a shy smile. "And I was serious, I _am_ feeling better now."

"Then what about earlier?" Harry asked.

"I've been having a little trouble sleeping since I came back. It's taking longer for me to go through all the memories you brought back and I've had several nightmares as I work through them. Plus I don't really have the support of my dorms like the other girls do," Luna said softly.

Harry frowned at that. Surely one of his or Neville's loves would make sure to help her. Seeing him frown, Luna walked up and kissed him softly, distracting his thoughts as she knew where they were going.

"It's not that the other girls won't help me, Harry," she said with a smile once the kiss had ended. Her eyes were still closed when she had broken the kiss, and her smile was a sign of cherishing the kiss. "It's that it would give too much away if I suddenly started being more friendly with them. Cho and I didn't really get along to well the first time around because of what Marietta did. I was at least acquaintances with Padma and Su as we are part of those that are considered outsiders or abnormal to the rest of the Ravenclaws."

Harry had to suppress a growl at the reminder. It was the one thing about the Hogwarts that irritated him no matter how he looked at it. Each house had its own version of the 'right sort' of people to associate with. With Slytherin, if you weren't a pureblood you were considered a lesser being. For the Gryffindors, it was those who didn't seem to have any self confidence or shied away from most things. The Ravenclaws were almost as bad as the Slytherins in that if you weren't born from a family from Great Britain ancestry, you were a foreigner and looked down on. Luna was a rare case in that while she had the ancestry, the way she acted as a defense mechanism against others made them treat her like the others.

At first glance Hufflepuff didn't seem to have one, but if you didn't place your own house above the others, regardless of how hard you worked or how loyal you were, you were considered a betrayer of the house. Not to mention if you didn't follow the general consensus of the house, even if it wasn't right, you were labeled the same way.

"Don't fret Harry. I managed before, I can do so again. And it's not like I won't have the others to help, especially with these wonderful pearls you made," Luna said as she opened her eyes and saw Harry with a scowl on his face as he suppressed the growl in his throat.

"I know, but it still doesn't mean I have to like how your house works," Harry said before sighing. "So why else did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Because she wanted a bit of alone time with you before the others get here," another feminine voice said startling Harry slightly. His senses had been down and he hadn't been paying attention for someone else to show up.

Looking towards the entrance from where the voice came, Harry saw Susan and Hannah dressed in their clothes and with their robes over them. Both were slightly bleary eyed but smiling. Harry let out a breath as he calmed his heart down before walking forward and hugging them both while giving Susan a kiss hello during her hug.

"Well it's obvious you girls have a plan with something in the Chamber," Harry stated, though with a slight question in his tone.

"Yes," Hannah said after yawning.

"So who else is coming then?" Harry asked after his own yawn. He glared slightly at Hannah as her yawn had made the others do the same, reminding him of the time and his lack of sleep tonight.

"Everyone," Luna said with a sing song voice and a spacey smile. "I woke them up while I was headed here."

"You do realize Daphne, Hermione, Pansy, and Su are going to be annoyed as hell when they get here right?" Susan asked while glaring at the more awake blond.

"Indeed we will be," Pansy's irritated and cold voice said as she, Daphne, Astoria, and Tracey entered into the bathroom. Tracey and Astoria seemed to be asleep on their feet with Astoria leaning against her sister while Tracey was yawning and swaying slightly behind them. All of them were just as bleary eyed as Hannah and Susan were, more so in Astoria's and Tracey's cases.

"Whose bright idea was it to harvest that bloody snake this early in the morning?" Tracey asked as she yawned again. That clued Harry into the plan of harvesting the Basilisk.

"Harvesting the snake was Daphne's idea," Padma said as she entered with a more awake Cho, and Su. They were followed a couple seconds later by an extremely bleary eyed Hermione, Katie, Lavender, and Parvati, the latter two leaning up against a just as tired Neville.

"I didn't mean this early in the morning though," Daphne defended as she glared at Luna who was grinning a Cheshire grin.

"It would have taken us a while to deliberate about when to come down here if I hadn't given us a push to get it done. Plus it's just another thing off our list of things to do," Luna said simply in her spacey tone, even if her eyes were still focused.

"That may be Luna," Minnie said in irritation as she entered into the bathroom and the conversation, "But a little warning next time is appreciated. Plus, please don't use the pearls to wake us up by shouting in our heads again unless it's an emergency. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sure thing Minnie," Luna said, her smile never lessening.

"So let me get this straight, we're all here to harvest that Basilisk that Harry killed?" Neville asked tiredly as he fought to stay awake. The other girls minus Hermione and Minnie just nodded.

"Isn't having us all here a bit overkill?" Hermione asked.

"Mostly yes," Daphne said with another yawn, causing her to glare again at Luna in annoyance. "If I remember correctly, there are a bunch of skins down there along with the corpse. Pansy, Padma, Astoria, Su, and I can harvest the Basilisk parts on our own, but we need Harry to open the chamber. Well, that is if the old man hasn't already broken the charms around the chamber already."

"Not to sound rude, but why are the rest of us here then?" Parvati asked.

"You mean you _don't_ want to see a thousand year old secret chamber?" Luna asked with her head cocked to the side slightly.

"No, I really want to see it, but I doubt I'll remember it with how tired I am," Parvati responded, her tone being a mix between a whining, anger, and disappointment.

"Trust me, you won't forget a sight like that snake," Harry said with a deadpan expression. It made all the others fall silent. They all had heard the story multiple times, but aside from Hermione, none had actually seen the snake, and even then Hermione had only seen what had apparently been a carcass.

Pansy had been the one after hearing the story that had pointed out that the Basilisk being a decomposed corpse didn't make sense. It was at least a thousand years old, and if it had been alive that long, there sure as hell was enough of a tolerance built up into every tissue in its body to not decompose for quite some time. Then there was the idea that it was its venom that forced it to decompose. That didn't make sense at all because while its venom was the deadliest in the world, it was merely a type of magical poison, not an obscenely powerful corrosive acid. Proof for that was that Harry still could use his arm, not to mention he still had it to begin with.

It was a couple minutes of silence though after Harry's comment before anyone said anything again, each lost in their own thoughts. His statement had made them all wake up a little more as well.

"You know, no one is going to see anything if we all keep standing around here," Su finally said, bringing everyone out of their thoughts.

"Well we should probably test first to see if the old man has broken the charms first then," Padma stated after a couple of seconds thought while looking at Harry.

"Anyone can make a hissing sound to see if it the charms have been changed yet," Harry said. "Remember from what Ron said, he 'imitated' what I did the first time here and it opened. We know now that Parseltongue relies on vibrations based on a frequency of magic."

The others nodded in understanding, though Hermione was looking confused.

"Vibrations base on a frequency?" she asked, not understanding what Harry was talking about.

"I thought you said there were a bunch of theories that you read while on the other side?" Harry asked in response while Padma took the initiative and made some hissing sounds near the sink. Silence reigned for several seconds as everyone waited for something to happen to happen. Once nothing happened, everyone let out a collective breath. "I guess that answer's that question," Padma stated.

"I don't remember anything on vibrations of frequencies of magic," Hermione stated when Harry looked back to her with a raised eyebrow, letting her know that he hadn't forgotten about the question he asked her, nor her confusion.

"It was something we figured out sometime after the Witch Hunt," Harry started, "We all know that magic can be cast in different languages and that the spells themselves tend to act like the literal translations of the words used. Because each language has different literal meanings, they tend to have their own frequency if you will, kind of like a radio. For Parseltongue, it's the same thing except it has an added factor in that the tongue has to vibrate to create the correct resonation for that frequency."

"That would explain why no one can learn Parseltongue then," Hermione said to Harry's explanation as her brain worked hard to process what she'd been told. She realized almost instantly that while a normal human tongue _could_ vibrate to a certain extent, it was likely that the actual vibrations needed were similar to those of snakes. This meant that the ability was probably genetic since she didn't know of and couldn't think of any spells that could force a tongue to vibrate like a snakes could.

That didn't explain how the trait was gained though, as a human was most certainly not a snake.

Harry could only grin at Hermione as he watched her eyes go out of a focus slightly while she nibbled on her bottom lip, lost in thought from what he had said. With that though he walked to the sink and stared at the snake engraved onto the faucet handle. It had been so many years since he had last stared at this engraving, back when he had been naïve and unassuming.

_§ Open. § _

Harry couldn't help the small tremble that went through his body as the sinks separated and sank into the ground showing the hole down into the Chamber of Secrets. It had been so many years since he last saw the chamber or even thought about it really. None of his history associated with this place had a good memory associated with it and it took a lot of his mental control to control the emotions that were bubbling just barely under the surface.

A hand placed on his shoulder made him turn his head slightly as he stared into the pair of concerned brown eyes owned by Katie. It was very obvious she was still tired, but not enough to be unaware of what opening the chambers were doing to his emotions. Aside from Hermione, and possibly Luna, Katie was one of the few that could read Harry when he was suppressing his emotions.

Granted they all were aware of what was likely going through his head. She quickly replaced her hand on his shoulder with her arms wrapping around him and hugging him tightly. Several arms joined hers in a group hug on Harry as he took several shuddering breaths.

"Thanks," Harry whispered a few moments later when the hug had ended. Nothing else was said about

Everyone took up positions around the hole and looked down into its dark depths after that.

"You know," Tracey started as they all stared into the whole. She was a bit more awake now then she was earlier. "I know we've talked about this a bunch of times, but actually seeing the entrance as a hole in the floor is wrong on so many levels."

"It almost makes me regret being a Slytherin," Pansy agreed.

"Just wait till later," Harry stated. "If it makes you feel any better, just remember that Lockhart was pushed down first."

Everyone couldn't help but smile at that. Well, almost everyone. Minnie grimaced slightly at the reminder of such a horrible teacher. The man had been by far and large the worst teacher the school had ever had and at the time she had not questioned Dumbledore on his employment.

"Well then, shall we test what we thought on how to get down to the chamber instead of just sliding down?" Cho asked after a couple seconds pause.

Harry just nodded.

_§ Stairs. §_ Harry hissed out.

Immediately after that, Harry could start to feel his eye twitch. Nothing had happened at all.

"Well there goes that theory," Luna said with disappointment in her tone.

"Indeed it does," Su said as her face scrunched up in thought. "How else could he have gotten back up? Going down is easy enough, but the up part just doesn't make sense. Brooms weren't around back then, and a carpet is just too large for how they fly."

It was at the word 'fly' that something clicked in Hermione's head as she had been multitasking on her thoughts.

"Harry," she started, drawing everyone's attention, "Wasn't Riddle flying on his own when we came and got you from your relative's house before the hunt?"

Harry stared blankly at her as he sorted through his memories. When he remembered the instance she was talking about he blinked rapidly before slapping his forehead and groaning.

"Yes, yes he was. That would also explain how Riddle got out of the chamber as well," Harry said as he rubbed his temples slightly. "It looks like we're going to fly out of there once we're done."

Again, all but Hermione nodded at his statement while the bushy haired girl had her face scrunched in confusion. Harry saw it immediately and moved to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry Hermione, we'll be sure to fly you out of there, and it will be much safer and smoother than flying on a broom with the bottomless pit."

Hermione scowled at the reminder of how she had gotten down the hole the first time, but it didn't last long as Harry suddenly removed his hands from her shoulder and jumped down the hole. She blinked in shock at his sudden action and tried desperately to think of something to say.

"All clear," Harry's voice echoed up from the hole about a few seconds later.

Not long after that, the other girls and Neville were jumping down the hole one by one before only Hermione and Minnie were the only ones left.

Hermione was still in shock and Minnie had a small smile on her face as she shook her head. "Leave it to the son of James Potter to do something like jumping down a dark hole without warning," Minnie said with mirth.

Her words were enough to snap Hermione out of her shock though. Looking over at the older woman, Hermione saw the smile on her face.

"He honestly knows how to fly like Riddle did?" Hermione asked.

"To a certain extent Hermione," Minnie replied with her smile still in place. "It was something that we found out and experimented with for some time. It's not nearly as fast the motorcycle that Sirius enchanted or how fast Riddle was flying, but it is quite a gentle flight. It feels similar to when on a plane at cruising speed, but only about twenty miles an hour. Though now that I think about it, he had plenty of years to change and improve the method he came up with."

"You all know how to do this?"

"Indeed we do. We were there when he was experimenting after all as we weren't about to let him try flying on his own and get seriously injured if something went wrong. Now come on, I'm sure the others are waiting for us already," Minnie said before jumping down the hole as well.

Hermione stared for several moments as she worked up the nerve to jump down the hole. When she finally had it, she stepped up to the edge and took a deep breath. She then let the breath out slowly before jumping down the hole.

She barely managed to hold in her scream as she fell for several feet before coming into contact with the wall as the tube that the hole was shifted. It took her through several twists and turns before she flew out of a hole into a soft and cushioned matt where she tumbled slightly and ended up on her back staring up at a ceiling. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was breathing heavily as she tried to calm down.

"It's kind of like a large slide at a park, isn't it?" Susan asked as her face cut into Hermione's view of the ceiling. She was obviously a great deal more awake than she had been a little while ago. A brief side thought figured all of them were now more awake from the slide.

"I suppose it is," Hermione said a little out of it.

Susan could only grin as she struck out her hand to help Hermione up. Hermione stumbled slightly once she was back on her feet in which Susan wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her up while tossing her arm over her shoulder.

It was then Hermione took a brief look around and saw that the place looked spotless. There were no signs of old chicken bones, no grim clinging to the walls and ceiling, and there were even a few torches along the walls that were light giving off a good amount of light. Looking to the others, she noticed that they were all clean as well and figured Harry must have used the cleaning charm on both the tube and on the room as he slid down.

"All right there Hermione?" Harry asked with a sheepish grin.

"I'll be fine. Just don't expect me to do that again," Hermione replied with a bit of a glare.

Harry just chuckled weakly before motioning the others to follow him.

The path towards the chamber was dark and dank but as he walked, Harry idly made motions with his hands about every five feet. With those motions, the grime along the walls, floor, and ceiling vanished and support pillars and beams with torches on them lined the walls and ceiling. On top of that, all the points in the pathway, walls, and ceiling smoothed themselves out after they seemingly fused together, further helping to make sure there were no cave-ins like before.

It was only several minutes before they reached said previous cave in, though it didn't stop them in the slightest as the stones leapt back into the ceiling with just a wave of Harry's hand before changing to match the rest of the pathway behind them. Shortly after that they came across the first skin, still looking as if had the last time Harry had seen it.

It was there that the group stopped and everyone but Harry stared at the shed skin.

"You know, this probably sounds cliché," Neville started to say, "But regardless of how many times you hear about large the Basilisk is, it just doesn't click until you see it."

"And it doesn't help that this skin is still smaller than the snake actually is," Harry muttered, though everyone could clearly hear him.

"I guess at this point I have to ask, did the rest of you bring the items needed to harvest the snake and these skins?" Su asked the others who would be doing the harvesting. As she looked at each of them she got a nod in return, though in Pansy's case, she had already pulled out a trunk and her wand and waved her wand at the skin.

It floated off the ground by about a foot as it was pulled taut. With another wave, the skin then started to roll up like a carpet. Once done, Pansy set the trunk on the ground before re-enlarging it and opening the lid. She then directed the floating rolled up skin into the chest where it disappeared quickly. After it had vanished, she promptly closed the lid, shrunk the chest, and pocketed it.

Looking up she saw amused looks on Su, Padma, Daphne, and Astoria's faces, while the others had their mouths open in shock.

"What? We'll take forever if we just sit and stare at each skin we find," Pansy said with an eyebrow raised in challenge. Neville snapped out of his shock first and chuckled slightly before walking up to her and kissing her soundly. "Only you love," he whispered in mirth after break the kiss.

The others quickly broke out of their shock as well, also chuckling once they had, before continuing on.

It was long after that that the group arrived at the final entrance. They had all stopped a good twenty feet back as they looked at the closed door.

Taking a deep breath, Harry hissed out the command to open the door like had back when he was twelve. Just like before, the snake engravings slithered around the outside off the circular door until a very loud and distinct click sound echoed in the hallway. A few seconds after that, the door groaned and creaked as it opened of its own accord, its opening giving the group a small view of the larger chamber hidden behind it.

All of them could see a small portion of the Basilisk's corpse, even from there as the green tinted lights gave off a glow to light up the inside of the chamber.

Harry sighed once the door was fully open however. As much as he knew it was a good idea to harvest the parts of the Basilisk, he really wasn't looking forward to stepping into the place that he had had probably his second scariest brush with death, and most certainly his most painful one. He shook those thoughts of quickly though as he turned to the others and asked, "Shall we?"

The rest of the group didn't need to answer though as they all started towards the chamber and one by one stepped through the entrance. Once everyone was in, they all moved towards where the obvious carcass was, each and every one of them staring at the very large and dead breed of snake before them. They all tried to come to grips with the fact that a predator this large had been hidden under a school, only to be released much later on the children of the school itself. Not only that, from what everyone already knew about the dangerous creature, it could have killed everyone in the school, and then probably gone on a massacre after it escaped the school.

There was a reason that Basilisks were considered the most dangerous creature in the world, even worse than the Nundu. While the Nundu took on average a hundred fully trained witches and wizards to be put down, it was still quite vulnerable to magic. The biggest problem people had with the creature was its toxic breath, but that was easily countered by Bubblehead Charms. A Basilisk on the other hand had its gaze which only needed a brief look for you to die. You could easily negate that by closing your eyes, but then you couldn't look at what you were fighting and that was the worst possible thing you could do when fighting something that could move as quickly as a snake. Add in its size and venom and it could easily kill _any_ other creature it came into contact with.

"You know, I'm not sure which a more terrifying thought is," Minnie started after several minutes of silence, "The fact that something like this creature can actually exist, or the fact that it was unleashed on a school full of children twice."

Harry's chuckling brought everyone's attention to the dark haired wizard and he stood near the face of the Basilisk.

"I'd say it's more the latter," Harry started after he stopped chuckling and reached out to touch the maw, "Considering the stages some animals go through in evolution, it's not surprising that a Basilisk can exist, even if the birthing method that idiot Scamander 'documented' was false."

"False?" Luna asked curiously. She already knew of a lot of wrongs her 'husband' and his father had made in documenting animals in the first time line. It didn't surprise her that they could have gotten the Basilisk's information wrong, but she was curious as to how it was false.

"Think about it. A chicken lays an egg, and a toad sits on it until the egg hatches giving you the deadliest snake, not to mention creature, in the world. I seriously think the man was either drunk, or had eaten something to make him hallucinate to come up with that. Magic may be odd, but it _always_ has some form of logic behind it, and what he came up with most certainly isn't logical at all," Harry said with a grin.

The others were silent as they processed what he said. It didn't take long after that before they all started to chuckle in varying degrees at how ridiculous the 'creation method' for a basilisk sounded.

Shortly after the chuckling stopped, Pansy was pulling out the shrunken trunk again as she asked, "Are we ready to harvest this thing then?"

The other harvesters nodded as they pulled out shrunken trunks as well.

"So what's actually harvestable from this thing anyways?" Hannah asked as the five girls enlarged the trunks and pulled out various items that were more than likely used for something with the harvesting.

"Most of it if I remember correctly," Padma said as she was pulling out several barrels from the trunks, making some of them wonder exactly what was in the chests. "The obvious things are the hide and venom for armor and coating weapons respectively. After that, the blood is used in a couple of complex potions, though most are poisonous if I remember correctly. Actually most of the internal organs are used for the same thing, while the liver is actually something that's safe to eat, and the heartstrings can be used in crafting some wands. The only things left after that are the skeleton which can be used as a trophy I guess, and the meat which can be sold to people who have eccentric tastes since it, like the liver, is actually edible."

"Wonder if it tastes like chicken or frogs legs then," Neville drawled, getting the others to laugh at his sally and ease some of the seriousness from the group.

"My guess is on the chicken," Harry commented with a grin, "Actually that makes me a little curious now on what exactly Basilisk meat tastes like. Can't be anything worse than some of the other things I tried while on other planets."

"You'd really try eating some of the Basilisk meat?" Astoria asked in shock as everyone was starring at Harry again with wide eyes.

"Not right now. It'd have to be at least cooked first," Harry said his grin still on his face, "Besides, I've eaten snake before and it's not bad, so how different can a Basilisk be? Not to mention at least with this I actually know what I'd be eating."

"I suppose…" Astoria conceded with a dubious look that Harry chose to ignore. The others were looking at him with similar expressions before they shook themselves from their dazes, and the harvesters finished pulling out their gear.

It wasn't long after that they were draining what blood remained in the snake into a barrel, followed shortly after that by the skinning. That part actually took the assistance of Neville as the spell to remove the skin without damaging it was taxing. Either Harry or Neville could have easily done it, but Neville was the only one of the two that was very familiar with the spell to begin with as he had need of it when dealing with particular plants as well so knew more of its specifics than Harry.

"So is there anything else down here besides the ugly statue and the basilisk?" Tracey asked as the five girls started to work on what amounted to a large scale dissection of a snake. Most of the group were a little queasy at the sight and smell of the harvesting and had promptly moved away to regain some of their bearings.

Luna, Harry, Susan, and Neville stayed with the others to help out where they could with the harvesting.

"No idea," Harry called as he wrapped up a section of a slab of meat Su Li had handed to him before placing it in the trunk he was filling.

"Up for some exploring then girls?" Katie asked with a wide grin at Harry's remark. At the other's nodding, she then called out for Harry to open the statue's mouth. The loud hissing made several of the women shiver, which doubled slightly at the grinding of stone coming from the mouth opening.

"Just remember to be careful ladies," Harry called out as they headed off to explore the tunnels in the main chamber and the one in the statues mouth.

He chuckled slightly at the reverberating "Yes Harry" that came from the girls and at how he thought that if he had been younger; his first reaction would have been to go with them in exploring instead of working on the harvesting. It wasn't like he didn't want to, but he knew the girls would and could look for things that he would _still_ miss. The only thing he could have found that they would have some problems with would be sensing any oddities in the ambient magic around the area. Usually this meant wards, concealing magic, and trap spells.

He had already checked for those though as they had come down the passageway and as they had entered the chamber. The entire time he had be reshaping the corridor, his sense had been pushing out looking for anything that wasn't natural ambient magic and aside from the spells he was casting, the charm that kept the chamber door locked, and the one that light up the green colored torches, there wasn't any other magic in the area than what they were using. Well not entirely just those. There _was_ a ward he had felt but the ward itself was more or less a giant warming charm. He hadn't noticed it his first time here for obvious reasons but the area was actually at a decent temperature considering they were not only quite a ways underground, but also under a very large and cold body of water.

Surprisingly enough, it only took about two hours to completely harvest the Basilisk. The only thing left that wasn't already in a trunk was the giant skeleton.

"So what should we do with the skeleton?" Pansy asked as she finished loading the trunk that had the hide and skins the others had found in the tunnels. The exploring group hadn't found much outside of a dozen shed skins of varying sizes, several old and broken fangs, and another large pile of various animal bones.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the large skeleton in contemplation.

"I think the obvious choice would be to display it somewhere in one of your properties," Daphne said after a while.

"A little cliché, but still rather obvious like you said," Pansy drawled.

"True, especially considering none of the properties I own have a 'hunting game' room from what I remember. Plus I don't really plan on having one anyways," Harry replied.

The group lulled back into silence for a while before Harry had an idea as a malicious grin appeared on his face. Said grin was accompanied by a deep chuckle. The others were waiting for Harry to talk as he obvious had an idea now, though Minnie was concerned considering she had seen his expression on the Marauders more times than she wished to remember.

"Susan some of The Ossuary's protections are skeletal warriors aren't they?" Harry asked suddenly.

His question made his idea click for everyone as Susan's eyes grew wide.

"Yes, yes they are," she whispered in shock. "You're thinking about using it as a defense for Potter Manor, aren't you?"

"Sort of," Harry said his grin getting wider. "I was thinking more along the lines of having protection each our families' houses."

The others blink in confusion at what he meant at that. It got a little worse as he actually pulled out his wand and pointed it at the skeleton. That confusion disappeared though with what he said next.

"_Gemino_," Harry's voice echoed throughout the chamber as the spell exploded from his wand and impacted the skeletal head. In an instant, an exact replica of the Basilisk's skeleton laid beside the original.

The others' eyes were comically wide at the sight.

"That's an incredible idea," Minnie whispered in awe at the thought. However, her knowledge of magic brought up a major flaw with Harry's plan. "How would the copy stay around? Even with how much power you can put into the spell, the _Gemino_ spell is only temporary."

"I actually have a plan for that," Harry said with a mischievous grin as he waved his hand and the copied skeleton vanished.

"And that plan would be….?" Lavender prompted, her gossipy nature kicking in slightly to find the information that was being withheld.

"_That_ I'll keep as a surprise," Harry replied with his grin just getting bigger as he waved the hand still holding the wand at the original skeleton, making the bones separate and slowly start flowing into one of the remaining empty trunks. The extra trunks had originally been brought on the off chance that they had actually found _something_ besides the basilisk's carcass.

Once the entre skeleton was in the trunk Harry had directed it too, he closed the lid, shrank it, and pocketed it.

The girls were glaring at him the entire time, though Neville was chuckling slightly. It was amusing to him for Harry to actually keep a plan from them, but he knew the glares were only for show. He had a couple ideas of what Harry would probably do with the skeleton, but the general idea of using it and its copies as a defense against attacks was something that he was positive would make any attackers soil themselves in fear. It's not like anyone was truly prepared to face down a Basilisk after all.

The other trunks were closed and gather shortly after before the group made its way back to where the pipe was. It wasn't that long until they reached the room, and just a bit after that that the group was back in the bathroom where they started. Much to Hermione's shock, everyone but her had floated gently into the air and up the pipe, just like Minnie had said. She knew she shouldn't be shocked at all considering what she'd been told, but it was one thing hearing something, and another seeing it. But just like Minnie had said, Harry had brought her up with him, though she had clung to him tightly and buried her face into his chest during the minute long flight up through the pipe.

She was very grateful once her feet were on the floor again, even if he flight had been incredibly smooth. She wouldn't have even known she had been flying if it wasn't for her feet not feeling ground beneath them for a time.

Once everyone was back up though, Harry closed the entrance to the Chamber of Secretes while the group said their brief goodbyes with hugs. While they had all been surprisingly awake during the harvesting, the adrenaline from sliding down the pipe, and from looking forward to seeing something new, had worn off to be replaced by mild exhaustion. They weren't bleary eyed like they had been when they first got to the bathroom, but they were just as tired, if not more so, than when they first got there.

This time they didn't leave in smaller groups, instead choosing to go in four large ones to their dormitories. They didn't need to worry anyways regardless though as Filch was certainly still asleep, and Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad were as well. Minnie broke off from those heading to the Gryffindor Tower about three quarters of the way there to head to her own.

It wasn't long after she had left that they had made it back to the tower, though the Fat Lady portrait had grumbled about being disturbed _again,_ that night. Once inside the tower, Parvati, Lavender, and Neville quickly bade their goodnight to Katie, Hermione, and Harry.

Harry had waved idly to them as he had promptly made his way to one of the chairs in front of the fire and flopped into it. Katie and Hermione looked at each other at his actions in confusion as they had already bade the others goodnight as well.

"Harry, are you alright?" Katie asked first as she and Hermione made their way over to his chair. His head was leaned back and his eyes were closed while his face was neutral.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just one of those odd mixtures of being tired but also wide awake," he replied softly as he cracked an eye open to look at the two brown haired witches. At their confused expressions, he elaborated, "I'm physically tired, but my mind is wide awake."

"Thinking about how to see if you can get in touch with Narcissa when she's alone then?" Hermione responded.

"Sort of," Harry said, "It won't be too hard to catch her alone from what I remember she told me about how she spent her time at the manor. The only thing I'll have to worry about is if there are any other Death Eaters there or numb nuts himself. The thing that has me concerned still though is what to do about Clarice. The fact that there wasn't even a codicil in my parents wills about her probably means she's not my sister, but something doesn't feel right about that."

"Is it possible that the codicils were intercepted while your parents were in hiding?" Katie asked.

"It's possible," Harry said with a sigh, "Considering the old goat has never had a problem redirecting my mail, I wouldn't put it past him to redirect my parents while they were in hiding, both outgoing and incoming."

"Is there any for sure way of seeing if she's your sister without going up to her and asking for some blood for a DNA test?" Hermione asked, causing Harry to snort in mirth slightly at her question. He imagined the outcome of _that_ kind of question going rather poorly very quickly.

"Not to my knowledge. The only other way would be if there something in the family vaults or in Potter Manor that had something. Seeing as how I've never actually _been_ to the latter, and the former is impossible at the moment as Gringots audits my accounts, we can only wait at the moment."

"Well let's see if we can distract those thoughts of yours then," Katie said with an impish grin as she stepped behind the chair. Harry's other eye opened then and looked at her in confusion for a moment before she threaded her fingers in his hair.

Shortly after that she started to rub his scalp firmly but gently in a massage. Harry's eyes closed immediately as he figured out what she was doing. It was something she had done in the last time line a lot to help relieve him of headaches without using potions. Without fail it always managed to drive those headaches away and always managed to make him feel better as well.

In this particular case, it also started to make him incredibly sleepy as not just his brain started to relax, but more of his body as well.

It seemed like it was only a few seconds later that her hands stopped, when in reality it had been a couple minutes. He had groaned slightly in disappointment as he opened his eyes to the upside down and smiling face of Katie.

"Can't have you passing out just yet Harry," she scolded him slightly, though her grin didn't help her tone any. A giggle to his left let him know that Hermione was watching the entire exchange with much amusement. He just tried to pout in response.

Said pout didn't last though as it quickly turned into an impish grin. Katie's hands were still in his hair, even if the scalp rub had stopped, and he used that to his advantage. He reached up and grabbed both of her hands and pulled them forward, in turn pulling Katie forward, until she was bent over with her face just a few inches above his. She hadn't fought the movement at all and once her face was over his, leaned down the few inches to give him an upside down passionate kiss.

It turned into a brief snog that left her breathless; especially considering her position, but once the kiss broke she was smiling brightly even if she was short of breath.

"Thanks Katie," Harry said with his lopsided grin, causing her to chuckle slightly as she slapped his chest playfully.

"You're welcome buster," she said as she stood up straight again. "I should head back to bed before Leanne wakes up and doesn't see me there."

Harry just nodded in response, his grin still in place as he lifted his head and turned to look at Hermione. She had a slightly wistful grin on her face but also bade her fellow brunette goodnight as she hugged her before Katie went up to her dorm.

"I should be heading to bed too as we were up quite late yesterday, not to mention quite busy as well," Hermione said as she leaned down and kissed Harry at an angle. Her kiss was a little bit shorter with him than Katie's but she didn't mind as Harry's smile was just as large with her. "You should try and get some rest as well Harry. You'll need it for what you plan on doing today."

Harry grimaced slightly at the reminder but nodded to her before standing back up from the chair. He made sure to give Hermione a hug and another kiss before she headed up the stairs before going back up to his own dorm. It wasn't like he'd get much sleep considering he'd but up in about two hours but that was all he really needed anyways. Katie's scalp massage left his mind relaxed and the two kisses he had gotten had only furthered that feeling. His body though while tired, was oddly energized from what Katie did and he was sure would be restless enough to only allow him a light sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland; Astronomy Tower<strong>

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996; 8:30AM**

Harry yawned widely as he looked out over the grounds of Hogwarts. There was an early morning mist still rising from the ground and thankfully few clouds in the sky. The sun was shining nicely a decent amount above the mountains already and he was basking in the early morning glow for a little bit.

He had already made a brief stop into the Great Hall for a brief breakfast and to meet up with whoever was awake from the previous night's activities. Only Hermione, Luna, Katie, and Minnie had been awake out of the group when he had shown up but he wasn't too surprised. Granted he did have to take some ribbing from Alicia and Angelina when he had gotten there as they had been awake as well.

The two older girls had noticed his, Katie's, and Hermione's tired looks and had good fun teasing the three on exactly _why_ they all looked so tired and mused. The three had taken it in stride and in turn teased the other two on being familiar about what they were saying from experience with a set of twins. It did wonder's to raise Harry's spirits for the day as he enjoyed being a teen again.

Even better was that his brief breakfast didn't have Umbridge, Snape, or Draco around to interrupt his good mood. Subconsciously he wondered where they were as their absence didn't bode well, but he wouldn't let it bother him for now.

Taking one last look at the grounds, Harry noted a couple of older years walking around the lake and had to smirk at the obvious couple. He was severely tempted to scare them by jumping from the tower and making a lot of noise on the way down before turning into his falcon form and taking off. But considering he didn't know who exactly was down there, not to mention the girls would kill him for doing something like that, he decided against it.

That didn't stop him from turning into his falcon form though and taking a dive. The freefall was enough to get his heart pounding to wake him up more as he spread his wings when he was closer to the ground. He felt his stomach lurch slightly as his momentum changed from a dive to a climb and he flapped his wings in hard measured strokes to gain altitude at a rate that was impossible for any non magical bird. Soon he was high over the grounds of Hogwarts, the castle and its surrounding area a mere fraction of what it was when he was actually standing on the earth.

Internally he smiled as he let out a screech from his beak in joy. Both his older mentality and the ingrained feelings of his younger body were in absolute bliss at the feeling of flying so high in the sky. It was a very simple but grand pleasure for him.

Turning slightly he stilled his wings so he could glide out over the lake, having to briefly force down the instinct his avian form had to dive at one of the fish he could clearly see even from this height. He stayed that way for several minutes, still soaking up the sun's rays and enjoying the wind as it washed over his form from his flight. After those several minutes were up though, he turned back towards the Astronomy Tower dove back to where he had been standing.

There was already pre-arranged letters and small bag for Harry to grab in his bird form, which he did the second he landed on the railing where he had previously placed them. Once he had them in one of his talons, he hopped from the ledge again where he took to the air once more.

If anyone had been able to see him from the height he climbed too though, they would have been shocked to see the bird act like it was twisting slightly before vanishing from sight.

Harry arrived above Grimmuald Place a second after he had vanished from Hogwarts. He didn't land right away as he extended his senses even in his bird form, searching if Tonks was still in the old house. Unfortunately she wasn't which made him screech again, though this time in annoyance. He had been hoping that she had stayed there before she went back to her mum's place and that he could catch her before she left, but it was obvious she wasn't there.

With another twist of his body, he vanished from the sky of London and arrived over a decent two story house in the country. Internally he smiled seeing the three acre lot in its former glory. On top of that, he saw who he was searching for as she walked up the rather long driveway towards the house. She was already about halfway there when he had seen her.

He dove quickly, estimating where she would be once he was closer to the ground and let out a screech when he was closer. The screech got her attention quickly as she stopped and looked up into the sky searching. Tonks found his form quickly enough and held out an arm for him to land on.

The landing wasn't as easy as he'd thought it'd be with having one of his talons holding onto the sack and letters, not to mention the speed he was moving at. He didn't outright crash into Tonks, but his landing had enough of an impact that she grimaced in pain.

"Well hello there," Tonks greeted as she greeted the fumbling falcon on her arm. Its wings were spread wide trying to balance itself one talon that had a strong grip on her arm. Thankfully the talons weren't piercing her robes, or worse her skin, but the rapid gesticulating movements of the wings and body were starting to throw her own balance off.

After a while the falcon just dropped what it had in its one talon before gripping with the now free one and regained its balance almost immediately. It then hopped up her arm onto her shoulder as before she kneeled down to grab the letters and small sack.

One of the letters had only the Black family seal on it, the other had name in a familiar chicken scratch.

"Are these from Harry?" Tonks asked the falcon on her shoulder rather rhetorically. She was a little surprised when she saw the head bob up and down. Without thinking about what she was saying she then asked, "Will you wait with me for a bit till I get inside for a response?"

Harry just nodded his head again before letting out a screech in amusement, immensely amused that Tonks hadn't recognized him yet. Granted his form still looked like a normal Peregrine Falcon, but one trait stayed through all of his Animagus forms, and that was his eye colors.

Tonks just eyed the obviously amused bird in confusion before continuing on towards the house before her. She had already pocketed the sack and the two letters in her robes before she reached the house and knocked on the door.

A faint "_Just a minute!"_ came from the other side of the door and the pair could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. It was obvious that the person on the other side of the door had reached it when the thumping of combing down the steps had stopped, but the door didn't open right away. Tonks fidgeted a bit at this point, and Harry could tell she was nervous about meeting up with her mum again.

When the door opened, the pair was greeted by Andromeda Tonks, who had puffy, tear stained cheeks, and blood shot eyes. Said blood shot eyes grew wide in shock at the sight of Tonks standing at the door and before Tonks could even say hello, or better yet ask why her mother was crying, Andromeda enveloped her daughter in bone crushing hug.

Her sudden movement almost knocked Harry from his perch on Tonks' shoulder as the older woman seemingly collapsed in what had to be fresh tears as she clung to her daughter. He had been forced to spread his wings briefly to maintain that balance but also let out a sharp shriek in shock at the movement.

His shriek almost covered up a feminine, "Andi, who's at the door?"

Tonks and Andromeda obviously didn't hear the voice but Harry did. He looked into the house passed where the door had opened more and his blood instantly boiled at who he saw just inside the landing. With an angry shriek he leapt from Tonks shoulder at his target.

He had just cleared Andromeda's body before his body changed instantly back to his human form and charged at the woman in front of him. Pressure surged throughout the area instantly, making Andromeda and Tonks gasp in shock as they suddenly dropped to their knees. The woman gasped as well but stayed standing, though only barely.

Her arm rose with a wand in hand as Harry charged at her. That was a mistake though as Harry was moving impossibly fast and before a spell could be fired had his left hand around her wrist and his right arm wrapped around her bicep. Before she could even blink, his body shifted to have his back to her before she felt pressure on her arm and found her body being lifted up and over Harry's body.

She was literally tossed over his should and into the floor violently where she let out a pained gasp when she landed on her back. Almost instantly she knew she had several broken ribs. Harry still had a hold of her arm, which was now dangerously close to being dislocated, and he promptly put his foot on her shoulder to hold her down. In his right hand however, a malevolent black and purple orb formed that positively crackled with energy.

The woman had her eyes wide open in fear and pain at the sight of the ball especially as Harry raised his arm back and started to bring it down towards her face.

"HARRY STOP!"

Harry jerked at the tone of voice that screamed at him from the front door, but he couldn't stop his arm's descent, especially as he had shifted his weight so that he would be kneeling as he struck. The jerking aimed his hand above the prone woman's head by six inches where he slammed his hand into the ground, the orb having vanished the second his arm jerked.

Looking back over his shoulder, he was greeted with a very confused looking Tonks, but an absolutely livid looking Andromeda. He couldn't help the reaction of flinching at the sight of an angry Andromeda since he had experienced her wrath more than once in the first time line.

It was then his brain kicked in finally from his anger induced haze. The voice he had heard had been Andromeda's sharp tone. That made sense for his jerk reaction, but it didn't make sense since she had yet to meet Harry in this time line.

"What the hell do you think you are doing young man? You let go of my sister this instant!" Andromeda screamed at Harry as she left a now even more confused Tonks at the door on her knees as she stormed up to Harry.

Again his body acted on instinct as he let go of the woman's arm and stood up and away from the woman he had almost killed. He blinked rapidly as he stared down at where Andromeda was now kneeling next to said woman holding her torso close to hers as the woman held her arm to her chest and was obviously crying in pain. His mind couldn't process readily what he was seeing at all.

"Mom, what the hell is Bellatrix Lestrange doing here?" Tonks' voice interrupted his thoughts as the metamorph had obvious gotten over her brief shock. When Harry turned to look at her, her wand was drawn and level on both the two women. In Harry's mind he was demanding the same thing, but was also wondering what the hell was going on.

"Don't take that tone with me missy, especially after you stormed out of here!" Andromeda snapped harshly at her daughter before turning her furious expression at Harry, "And _you! _What gives you the right to try and murder my sister?"

Many of Harry's thought's came to a grinding halt at the question as the rage he felt earlier snapped back into existence. His power resurfaced instantly with his eyes glowing dangerously, though the pressure stayed away this time as he thundered, "_**I have every fucking right! Or did you forget that she murdered your daughter and Sirius? Or that she tortured the Longbottoms into insanity? Or how about the great deal of other people she had tortured and killed in her bloody master's name?"**_

If Harry had been thinking clearly he would have noted he was yelling about several future instances that hadn't happened yet.

He was panting after he finished his comments though as he waited for an answer. Andromeda didn't seem to have an answer for him though as she continued to glare at him, her violet eyes promising pain if he even so much as moved toward her and Bellatrix. Not like she could stop him if he wanted to though.

"A-Andi, it hurts!" a sobbed cry came from Bellatrix, drawing both Andromeda's and Harry's stares towards the obviously distressed and in pain woman.

Harry's anger again faded instantly as confusion came back to his thoughts, not to mention the now gaping Tonks who had dropped her wand arm in shock.

"It's okay Bella, we'll get you healed once Ted get's home," Andromeda said to her sister, her tone infinitely softer than when she had spoken to Tonks or Harry.

"B-but Harry's right! I d-deserve it for what I've done," Bellatrix sobbed out as Andromeda pulled her head to her chest. The older Black sister turned her angry gaze back at Harry who grimaced again at the look.

Internally he was just as angry, though not at the woman who was now in pain, and more at his actions. He had thought he had better control on his emotions and actions and was angry that he had acted the way he had. Growling in annoyance in the back of his throat he moved to kneel next to the two older women again.

Andromeda's look turned positively glacial as she tightened her hold on her sister as he knelt next to them, but Harry promptly ignored her as he raised his hands again. This time they were glowing a very soft green instead of having the dark orb he had before. Reaching out he gently but firmly took hold of Bellatrix's upper arm, though went with her when her entire body flinched deeper into Andromeda's embrace.

"What the hell are you doing?" Andromeda demanded as she reached out with one of her hands to remove his.

"Healing her," Harry growled out, making Andromeda pause in her actions. "The throw likely tore her rotator cuff and hyper extended every muscle in her arm. Her back is probably in a similar state from the impact of the floor. Plus from her breathing, she probably has at least one broken or bruised rib."

His words proved true a few seconds later as the pained crying Bellatrix was doing became just quiet sobs, especially as he ran his hands down her arm and then over her shoulder and back.

"Now, do you mind explaining what's going on?" Harry asked once he was done and looked towards Andromeda with a hard look. His mind was in shambles with trying to figure out what the hell had happened.

"You and Dora head to the living room. I'll explain everything to you in a few minutes," Andromeda replied with just as hard of a look. Harry just nodded and stood up before moving over to a now gaping and slightly teary eyed Tonks. He directed the now upset woman towards where he knew the living room was, making sure to hold onto her waist tightly as she stumbled a couple of times as she was in shock.

Once in the living room, he guided her to the couch and she all but collapsed into it beside Harry.

Her slightly teary eyes were now tearing fully as sobs started to rack her body. Harry pulled her into a tight embrace which she returned while burying her face into his chest again. His chest did little to muffled her sobs though as she cried.

Harry tried whispering consoling words to her as he held her to him and rubbed her back. This continued for nearly five minutes before Andromeda entered the living room. Harry's gaze was the one turning glacial this time though as he glared at the older woman. She flinched at his look briefly as her expression turned to grief at seeing how upset Tonks was. She quietly made her way over to the couch and sat behind Tonks.

Very gently she reached out and set a hand on Tonks shoulder, causing the younger woman to jerk upright in shock at the additional hand. Tonks turned around quickly as Harry had let go of her at her movement and faced her mother.

"I'm so sorry for what I said Dora. Please, forgive me," Andromeda said softly as she held open her arms to her daughter. That seemed to be all it took for Tonks to move and hug her mother as she buried her face in her chest this time. Andromeda enveloped her daughter in just a tight a hug as she was receiving and was crying again just like Tonks was.

Harry on the other hand could feel a headache coming on. The bouncing of emotions and actions were both chaotic and infuriating. He was confused as to how Andromeda knew who he was, and why Bellatrix was here and also sounded so different from what he remembered. On top of that, the rapid changing of emotions and reactions from Andromeda were beyond extreme which added to his confusion.

He sighed as he reached up and rubbed his temples to relive the throbbing behind his eyes. Something told him that his headache was only going to get worse once the two women managed to gain control of their emotions again so they could talk.

That time period, unfortunately, was almost twenty minutes later when Tonks leaned back from her mom's embrace and rubbed her eyes to clear out some of the tears. Harry had moved by that point to conjure a chair in front of the couch.

"Am I forgiven Dora?" Andromeda asked quietly once Tonks was done clearing out her eyes.

"Of course you are mum," was Tonks' sniffled reply before engulfing her mother in another hug.

"Guess I wasn't so far off on my prediction of you two bonding again," Harry said with a small chuckle, interrupting the hug.

Both women turned their heads to look at him with very similar curious and confused looks, making him chuckle a bit louder until he mentioned Andromeda's usual greeting to someone she was worried about. A look of understanding mixed with a grin appeared on Tonks' face while Andromeda glared at him, though her lips twitching took the heat out of it.

"Well, now that the emotional parts are mostly out of the way, can you explain what's going on Andi, preferably starting with how you have your memories back and why your sister is here," Harry asked.

"I'm not really sure how I got my memories back but it coincides with why Bella is here actually." Andromeda started to explain though her eyes were a bit glazed over as she pulled up her memories. "Two weeks ago she showed up here in the middle of the night pounding on the door, both screaming and crying. Seeing her again nearly gave me a heart attack as I thought she was going to kill me. Imagine my surprise when all she does after I open the door is to fall to her knees and hug me. It was then that all these memories from the future came rushing into my head. Those plus my sister hugging me was just a bit too much and I fainted. When I woke up, I was on the couch, with Ted looking over me and Bella stunned and bound to a chair."

"It took a little while after I woke up to get a hold of all the memories, much to Ted's worry as I was responding to what he was saying. When everything settled and seeing Ted again, I knew that somehow I'd been given a second chance at life and spent the next several hours talking with Ted about what had been going on in my head. I actually had to stop him from turning around and killing Bella once I told him of her part in Sirius' and Dora's future deaths. When he asked why I stopped him, I didn't have an answer for him outside of trying to figure out why she hadn't killed me the second I opened the door."

"We woke her up then, and after gaining her bearings and seeing Ted and I, she started crying again and apologizing over and over until we could calm her down. Once she was at least partially, she started begging us to take a package from her robes and kill her. She kept saying that she didn't deserve a second chance for all the things she'd done. Ted wanted to agree immediately but not only her voice, but her actions were exactly like that of the little sister I remember from growing up. She was always a bit harsh then, but the psychotic behavior she had later in life was more just playful and prankster like, sort of like Sirius was but with a little bit more of a mean streak. "

"After convincing Ted to not kill her, or turn her over to the DMLE, we made sure to take everything she had on her, including her wand and the package she had in her robes. The package was actually a very old potion the Black family made meant as a cure for a very particular curse that they created."

"I'm guessing the potion was for Frank and Alice then?" Harry asked in surprise. His mouth had already been open in shock during Andromeda's explanation, especially as this event had happened long before Neville, the girls, and he had returned.

Andromeda just nodded before continuing. "That's actually where Ted is now. He didn't tell the other Healers at St. Mungo's where he got the potion, just that he was sure it would cure them. They've actually been up for a little over a week now. The entire thing is being kept under wraps at their request, especially after Ted told them of the breakout from Azkaban."

Harry felt his jaw couldn't possibly be more unhinged at that, nor could he be more speechless. It was always something Neville and him had talked about after the Witch Hunt, how to try and heal his parents. They had come up with a couple of methods that Harry could try if he ever managed to figure out how to use the Hallows to return to the past. It hadn't been brought up just yet as there were bigger things to accomplish, but now it was one more thing that they didn't need to worry about.

Tonks was in a very much similar stated, though more so from hearing about her Aunt's brief history. Her mum had never really talked much about her other sister's from what she could remember just that she always wished they hadn't turned out like they had. She already knew what had happened to Narcissa, but hearing about the woman who had killed her was something else.

"Bella has actually been staying here since then as well," Andromeda started again, "It's been a little strange as she's been helping me around the house and with the potion order's I've been getting. She's only left twice since then, once to go to Gringots for something she won't tell me or Ted about, and once when the dark lord called her using his bloody brand. She had just been back for an hour actually before you showed up and was crying and apologizing again. I've spent most of the morning trying to calm her down and trying to not think about the memories of the future."

Harry came out of his stupor at that point and noticed that Andromeda had tears rolling down her cheeks again, even as her eyes were glazed over and she had a thousand yard stare. He had only ever seen her like this a couple of times in the future, all on the anniversary of when Tonks and her husband had died. She hadn't been part of his group after the Witch Hunt as he had found her murdered in her sleep not two days after his resignation from the Ministry when he came looking for her.

Sighing, he stood and dispelled his chair before taking a knee in front of her. His actions brought Tonks out of her own stupor who also noticed her mother's obvious distressed look. She took one hand while Harry took the other and he said, "Andi, things are going to be a lot different this time around, I can promise you that. They will be much better and you won't lose any of your family again."

His soft words brought her out of her blank stare to look at him and Tonks curiously a couple of times. She actually blinked a couple of times as her expression changed suddenly to a confused one before asking, "How can you promise me that when you're back in such a young body? For that matter, how are _both of you_ even back?"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the very confused looking older woman. She was normally much more aware of what was going on around her, but he threw her a bone figuring that she was more than likely distressed enough trying to still cope with the memories that had returned to her. He still couldn't think of how she even got those memories back to begin with, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth with her having them. Now all he needed to figure out was this twist with Bellatrix.

"That will actually take quite a while to explain and unfortunately I have some other things to do today Andi," Harry said with a small smile while turning to Tonks, "Tonks, could you bring your mother up to speed on what's happened so far. Just remember to not let her storm off to kill she-who-must-control-everyone. Oh yea, Cho, Su, and Pansy are back now as well. Just one more person to go before we are all returned."

"Sure thing Harry," Tonks said with a slight blush, "Oh before I forget, I'm guessing you had something planned with those letters and sack you had with you earlier? Speaking of which, we're going to have a long conversation on why you didn't tell me you were an Animagus as well."

Harry just grinned at her, figuring he could surprise her again with his other forms later, before replying, "Yes, I'll explain what the letters and sack are for in a bit. I need to talk to Bellatrix though considering how she's been acting."

He had to flinch slightly as he said that as Andromeda's hand clenched painfully tight around one of his, making him wonder how the bones weren't breaking. When he turned to look at her again, a threatening glare was in place as she coldly said, "You will _not_ interrogate my sister. She's having enough trouble as it is dealing with what she's done."

"I know that _now _Andi," Harry said as softly as he could as he tried to keep the pain from his voice about having his hand crushed. "I'm going to apologize to her on how I acted and try to explain to her what Tonks is going to explain to you, as well as try and figure out her change in demeanor. I'm pretty sure she has her memories from the future just like you do and something in there is eating away at her."

The grip on his hand loosened at that as Andromeda nodded at what he was saying. "You're right, but if you so much as hurt her, you'll learn why you never want my wrath directed at you."

Harry just nodded rapidly as he stood and pulled his hand from her grip. He bid the two a brief adieu after learning that Bellatrix was on the second story in Tonks' old room. He then left the two women, leaving the explaining of how he and the others had come back to Tonks as he went to confront Bellatrix.

When he got to the specified room, he could hear her somewhat quiet sobs and sniffles through the door. It made him sigh slightly as he wasn't sure how to deal with a non psychotic Bellatrix. Pushing his doubts to the back of his head though, he opened the door and stepped into the already lit room before closing it quietly.

Bellatrix took notice of him instantly from her spot leaning against the far wall on the bed with her knees curled into her chest. Her black hair was just as erratic as before, if not a bit more so from her disheveled state. Harry also noticed that her entire body was not the gaunt and bony woman he remembered her being, even at the battle of Hogwarts. She was still unnaturally thin, but she looked a hell of a lot healthier.

"Have you come to put me out of my misery now?" she asked in a small and frightened voice, a far cry from the proud and crazy tone he always associated with her.

Sighing, Harry shook his head as he walked towards the bed, conjuring another chair next to it where he sat down. "No Bellatrix, I'm not going to kill you."

"Then what are you here for Harry?" she asked, her voice no longer frightened but still small. It also held a trace of confusion.

"Curiosity mostly," Harry started, a little confused with the situation he found himself currently in, "Andi told your niece and I how you came to be here and how you brought a cure back for Neville Longbottom's parents. She also told us how she has her memories from the future and confirmed that you apparently do as well. While I'm surprised she has those memories, I'm both curious and confused as to how and why you have them as well, though they seem to have one benefit of you suddenly turning nice."

His tone at the end had ended a lot harsher than what he meant to but he honestly couldn't help it. He had never once thought about Bellatrix being in a similar boat to Narcissa, especially with how ruthless she was in the first time line. Yet now, here she was looking just as vulnerable as so many of his loves had after he had found them and brought them back to his island before the Witch Hunt. It was made even more so as his tone made her seemingly fold in on herself more as more tears started to fall from her eyes, and he couldn't help the superimposing image of his loves after they had woken from nightmares about what had been done to them.

"It doesn't matter. You should just kill me and be done with it. I've hurt so many people that I don't deserve anything less," her shuddering voice answered back. Harry couldn't help the flinch at her comment as a part of him agreed wholeheartedly with her sentiments.

He promptly squashed that feeling under his Occulmency lest he do something he regret.

"Bella," he said softly, surprising both her and himself with his tone, "While you _have_ done some horrible things, you've been given a second chance to at least do something right to try and redeem yourself. You've already started to try at least with curing the Longbottoms."

"It doesn't matter though since I put that horrible curse on them in the first place!" Bellatrix cried out in distress interrupting him.

"That is very true, you did. And you robbed one of my best friends of many years of growing up with his parents in the process," Harry soldiered on, though his words made Bellatrix flinch, "But like I said, you've tried to redeem yourself at least partially by curing them of what you did. That speaks a lot for how much you've apparently changed."

"But what about what I did to all those muggleborns the snatcher's brought in? What about what I did to your muggleborn friend, that Granger girl? Or what I did to my own _family_ in killing my niece? I can't be forgiven for those things! I can't possibly redeem myself for what I did to them!" Bellatrix cried out, and it was very obvious she was in hysterics again as she started to sob once more. She buried her face into her knees then as she curled into a tighter ball.

"_Oh bloody hell, this just keeps getting better and better,_" Harry thought sarcastically in annoyance as he watched the woman retreat further into herself. It was the complete opposite reaction he was trying to get. Granted her words had brought up a couple of painful memories for him that he had to ruthlessly filter from his emotions, even as the sight of a dead Tonks and Remus flashed before his eyes, and the pained and hysteric screams of Hermione as Bellatrix carved 'mudblood' into her arm.

Taking a very deep breath and letting it out slowly, he did the only thing he could think of when confronted with a distraught woman. He moved from his chair to sit next to her and very gently and cautiously wrapped her in a hug. She stiffened slightly as his arms came engulfed her, but relaxed a few second later before her entire body leaned against his torso in the hug.

The only sound in the room for several minutes after that were Bellatrix's sobs as Harry tried to figure out what to say. He was against using the normal comforting words he used for his loves considering how much pain this woman had caused him, but a part of him was concerned for her as well. That small part was growing constantly though as his focus was on what he could say to calm the woman down.

"You're right in that you did commit those atrocities," Harry started slowly as he kept thinking through his words carefully. "But remember this Bella; many of those things have not yet come to pass. There is no muggleborn registration act that has been passed by Riddle's lackeys, meaning there are no snatchers to hunt down muggleborns. That also means there haven't been any brought before you or Riddle as well. Also, you have not tortured Hermione at all this time around, not to mention you most certainly haven't killed your niece as she is currently down stairs getting reacquainted with Andromeda."

Harry was glad to see that her sobs had lessened before he started talking, and was mildly amused at her confusion when he said Riddle instead of Voldemort. Granted, she still had tears in her eyes and her body was shaking from repressing her sobs still, but at least she was somewhat calmer.

"It doesn't matter though. I did all those things before, and I'll just end up back in that place where all I'll experience is all of the pain and suffering I put all the people I've hurt through. It's impossible for me to go anywhere else, even if the man who sent me back said I could change my fate," she sobbed out quietly.

Harry started slightly at hearing the last bit and he couldn't stop the next question from rolling out of his lips, "A man sent you back? What man?"

Bellatrix finally fully sat up then as she turned to him in confusion, but gave a brief description of the man she saw. It was an exact description of Death when Harry had seen him, and Harry couldn't stop the chuckle that turned into a laugh from escaping. Bellatrix was even more confused as the laughing just kept going from Harry and he was forced to release her and grab his stomach as it started to ache from all the laughing.

When he managed to get his laughing back under control, it was then that Harry told her of who exactly it was that had sent her back. Her shocked and terrified expression led him into telling her about who else was also back, but left out the how. He left out his plan on returning Narcissa though as he wasn't sure how Bellatrix would take _that_ part of his explanation. Hell, he wasn't even sure how Andromeda would take it, a fact that actually worried him.

During his explanation though, Bellatrix's eyes just got wider and wider, her own turmoil long forgotten to be replaced by shock and awe, especially when he told her about him being the new Lord Black. She had gasped and gaped when he showed her the ring to prove it, as well as the other's he had.

The entire thing took about an hour as he hadn't given an in depth description, but it was still a lot to take in, plus he still didn't trust her completely yet. What she had done for Neville's parent's was a start in the right direction, but she still had to deal with Neville and Hermione when they found out, and for now she had to deal with Tonks.

It was after his description that an idea popped into his head, especially on getting in touch with Narcissa. At his epiphany, he suggested to Bellatrix that they go back downstairs to talk with Andromeda and Tonks. She was still in shock when he made his suggestion and just nodded dumbly, making him shake his head slightly. He actually had to lead the shell shocked woman downstairs and into the living room where a now giggling Tonks and an angry and bound Andromeda were.

He chuckled at the sight as he already knew why Andromeda was in the position she was in while glaring at her giggling daughter. Her gaze shifted to Harry the moment he stepped in, though softened and turned to slight confusion at Bellatrix's awed and glassy eyed stare.

Harry just guided the older woman to the couch where Tonks moved over so Harry could sit in the middle and he sat Bellatrix down on his other side. Tonks' giggles though got worse at the look on Bellatrix's face, which drew the angry gaze of her mother back to her. Andromeda was actually in one of the spare chairs in the living room and the magically conjured ropes that bound her were _only_ around her instead of binding her to the chair.

"I take it she tried to run off and kill a certain red head?" Harry asked Tonks once Bella was sitting and he had sat down as well.

"Oh yes, and I've had to endure some pretty entertaining threats if I didn't let her go to enact her vengeance," Tonks replied with a wide grin through her giggles.

"Let me go this instant missy! That loathsome excuse for a woman needs to hang from her tits by rusted spikes as she's turned into a flaming pillar of salt for what she did to you!" Andromeda hissed out in response to her daughter's statement.

Harry couldn't help but gape at Andromeda in shock at her words as while he knew she was very good at hexing and cursing people when she was angry, her comment was a bit more violent than he'd expected.

"Now mum, I can't do that. That woman will get what's coming to her eventually. Especially since Kreacher knows what she's been doing now as well," Tonks said as her amused grin turned sinister.

The name of the old house elf though seemed to snap Bella partially out of her shocked state as she turned to look at her niece.

"Kreacher?" she asked in confusion.

The change in the old elf had been something Harry had left out, as had been some of the specifics about events that he had found out about, like Molly specific dousing of Remus and Tonks with love potions. He explained those facts to her now though, but in hind sight it wasn't the best of ideas as it become apparent that Andromeda and Bellatrix shared a great deal more than just how close they looked.

She had gone from slightly spacey to almost back to the psychotic woman he was more familiar with in an instant. He actually had to physically hold her in her seat as she growled out promises of retribution against Molly Weasley.

At the end of her tirade, in which Tonks, Harry, and Andromeda had a newfound respect for this new Bellatrix, she was panting in the seat where Harry had held her down.

"That… was impressive," Harry stated in slight awe at the older woman, "I think the only time I've heard someone mention even half of those has been when Hermione been in one of her rants."

Bellatrix turned to stare at Harry for a little bit before a pondering expression came onto her face. "Maybe I should compare notes with her sometime?" she asked in a truly innocent tone.

Harry couldn't stop the shudder that crept up his spine at the thought of Hermione and Bellatrix planning retribution against someone together. Hermione was vindictive in her own right when she was angered but include in the cruelty that they knew Bellatrix could and _had_ done to people in the past and it was a very terrifying thought.

"You'd have to talk to her first and convince her you are trying to redeem yourself," Harry stated as he forcibly turned his thoughts away from what the two women could do together, not to mention if they included the rest of his loves as well. It seemed to do the trick as Bellatrix flinched harshly and her anger vanished.

"Any ways," he continued as he turned to Tonks, "Can you pull out that small sack and the two letter's you pocketed earlier? And also you can probably release your mother now too as I'm sure you have the other documents I gave you yesterday."

Tonks' smile lit up the room as she got what he was say and quickly did removed the letters and sack from her pockets as well as a folder that was sealed with the Black family seal. She handed the letters and sack to Harry before getting up and handing the folder to Andromeda after she unbound her.

Andromeda for her part was curious as to what was in said folder, especially after seeing it was sealed with the Lord Black seal. She had already been told Harry was the new Lord Black but that had been it as Tonks wanted this to be a surprise for her.

She quickly broke the seal and pulled out several pieces of parchment from inside. Reading over them quickly her eyes grew wide as she realized what they were. There three in total, the first being a reinstatement into the Black Family for her and all her descendants, the second making Ted a member of the family as well (which also made the Tonks name an official branch of the Black Clan), and the last was a letter for Arcturus explaining why he did what he did as well as giving his apologies for not bringing her and her family back in sooner. All three had been drawn up and written before the man's death, but he hadn't been able to complete the first two papers before his death.

Andromeda had tears in her eyes again quickly as she launched herself at Harry and Tonks this time and smothered them in a tight hug as she cried. Bella was confused at her reaction, but when asked, Andromeda had simply handed broken the hug to hand her the papers still in her hand before returning to her crushing hug. After reading through the papers as well, Bellatrix was more shocked than she had been before, but congratulated Andromeda with a hug of her own as well as apologizing for all the grief she had given her sister previous.

Once the hugging had stopped though and Harry had stood and let Andromeda take his seat so the three women could maintain a family hug, Harry had to clear his throat to get their attention again.

"I think now would be a good time to explain why I had those letters and the sack," he started before pulling out the sack and the two letters. He then informed the three women about the pearls he had in the sack as well as what they were used for. Needless to say, they were just as shocked as the girls and Neville had been. Tonks figured out immediately what the secondary emerald colored pearl was for when she was the only woman it was given to though.

Bella looked a sad when she didn't get one of the fascinating pearls, but understood why. Harry still didn't trust her fully, and while he was taking her change at face value for now, she understood she had to prove herself not only to him, but to everyone else as well.

She perked up though when Harry conjured another sack and handed it to Andromeda and had her remove the first pearl. It was a deep purple in color and he told her that she could give those to who she trusted, which one was promptly handed to Bella first, then Tonks and Harry as well. The smile on Bellatrix's face was _very_ odd for Harry to see, especially as it didn't have any of the insane feelings attached to it that he was used to.

Once the description of the pearls was over however, Tonks asked about the letters then. The first was obvious when he handed it to her as it was the letter for her. It contained everything that he had just explained to them about the pearls and what they were used for. She ribbed Harry slightly when she asked if he had planned on just dropping by and leaving without saying hello properly.

"So what's up with the second letter then Harry?" Tonks asked when his good natured grumbling stopped and she and the other two women had stopped giggling at his expense.

"It's for Narcissa in much the same way the other letter was for you," Harry said as he handed her the letter with the seal. It wouldn't matter too much if she broke the seal as he was sitting right there and could reseal it. Tonks already knew what was in though having seen the memory sphere amongst the pearls when Harry dumped them into his hand.

"Narcissa? What do you want with Cissy?" Bellatrix asked a little hotly.

"Nothing bad Bella, I assure you," Harry said softly, "It's mostly just a way to help her dealing with those fools she calls her husband and son. Not to mention a way for her to reconnect with the Black family."

"So you don't plan on hurting her?" Bella asked hesitantly. Harry wasn't really surprised as it was clear she was defensive of her sister, much as Andromeda had been of Bellatrix earlier. Granted her defense of her sister was a new thing for him as from what he remembered, she lorded over Narcissa in the first time line about punishing her and the Malfoys for failing Voldemort.

"Not at all, in fact, I could actually use your help if you'd be willing?" Harry asked as the idea he had earlier came back into his head. His request made her perk up even more, her earlier sadness forgotten for now. Seeing her smile and nod he went on to say, "What I'd like for you to do is head back to Malfoy Manor and give her the letter and the sack. There's in the letter for how to use everything in the sack, but make sure she uses this sphere first."

He held up the memory sphere for Bellatrix to see. It wasn't really hard to identify since it was larger than the pearls that remained, nor was it purple, emerald, or forest green. Andromeda had added a pearl from her sack to the mix already since learning that the remaining ones were going to Narcissa.

"It feels a little bit like Cissy," Bella commented idly after handling the sphere a bit before giving it back to Harry. He promptly dropped it back into the sack but didn't comment on what she had said, not sure how to explain it to her.

"So, could you do this for me Bella?" Harry asked. He wasn't concerned if she turned him down as he still had his original plan of delivering them as his falcon, though it was slightly amended this time to make sure Tonks tied them to his leg in his form before he flew off.

Bellatrix quickly agreed though and promptly took the offered letter and sack as she stood.

"Make sure she reads the letter and uses the pearls and sphere when it's just you two in a room though Bella. I don't want what those things are getting out to anyone else, so I'm taking a risk in trusting you with this," Harry said as she pocketed the sack and letter. A look of determination sprang into life on her face at that before she nodded sharply once and vanished with a crack.

"So," Andromeda drawled the second Bellatrix was gone, drawing Harry's gaze, "When can I expect to see my grandson Teddy again? Or should I be asking Narcissa if she'll soon be having a better child than Draco ever was?"

Harry turned bright red at her questions as he floundered in trying to come up with an answer. A brief look at Tonks for help didn't help as her cheeks were just as inflamed and her hair had changed to match.

Andromeda couldn't keep the serious look she had on her face for long though and was soon laughing heartily at the looks on the two. When Harry and Tonks managed to control their blushing, their looks went from embarrassed to glaring at the eldest of the black sisters.

"Oh relax you two," Andromeda chided slightly with a grin still in place.

"That was just mean," Harry said with a pout. He had been a little shocked at first at the question but figured that Tonks had explained a bit about the girls he had fallen in love with, and in turn them having fallen in love with him.

"But an honest question though," Andromeda said as he expression sobered. "I have a feeling once things are explained to some of the other girls' parents they will want to know about their future grandchildren. They will want to know how they grew up and lived, who they married and what kind of kids they had as well."

Harry's expression turned dark at the comment about the kids growing up while Tonks' expression turned depressed. Andromeda was alarmed at the sudden change and asked why. It was abundantly clear Tonks hadn't told her what had happened to Teddy in the first time line, not to mention all the other children of Harry's friends and family.

Harry had to be the one to tell Andromeda about what had happened that day. He wasn't surprised by the raging inferno in his chest as he retold her of the two days events in brutally explicit detail, and Andromeda's complexion turned more and more ashen as the story went on. It turned to rage when she was told who the culprits where, then into a cruel grin when Harry described what he had done to them when he caught them. Harry stopped before he got into the Witch Hunt though as that was an entirely different can of horrors.

Andi was hugging her sobbing daughter tightly when everything was finally explained about those days. She felt horrible now for her earlier question and said as much along with apologies for it. During the explanation though, the three people missed Harry's right hand glowing as the yet to be identified signet ring lit up for several seconds before dimming again.

The sure as hell noticed though several minutes after Harry was done talking a much younger and aristocratic looking Narcissa appeared in the living room alongside a very confused looking Bella with a crack before bowling Harry over in his chair.

The chair he was sitting in went over backwards quickly, thankfully being a high back one so his head didn't smack into the ground, and he and Narcissa rolled backwards out of the chair with the motion. Well, more like Narcissa rolled with Harry as Harry was stunned briefly from the impact. They settled quickly with Narcissa straddling Harry and gluing her lips to his as she held him tightly.

"Cissy?" Bella called out, her confusion only getting worse as she turned to Andromeda and Tonks, "Andi, what's going on?"

If Harry hadn't been busy returning the passionate kiss from Narcissa, he would have chuckled at the child like confused tone Bellatrix had in her question.

Andromeda, as well as Tonks, couldn't answer though as they were laughing their heads off.

Narcissa, however, had heard Bellatrix's question and briefly broke the kiss with Harry to say, "I believe I'm kissing a man who is more worth my affections than that lackluster cretin of a husband." She then promptly went back to kissing Harry, even as Andi's and Tonks' laughter got louder and Bella just got more confused.

It was several minutes later that Narcissa finally broke off the kiss with Harry and just clung to him tightly. For Harry, he had a goofy grin on his face as he held Narcissa to him just as tightly as she was holding him. The last of his loves was back now, and they could finally start doing some planning. Granted Andromeda having her memories from the future was an unexpected but welcome none the less. Bellatrix having her memories back though threw him for a loop, and he wasn't sure how thing would play out with her. For now, he'd see how things played out with her.

When Narcissa finally let up on the hug and stood back up, Harry following shortly after, the two say down in the now upright chair. Well, Harry sat in the chair and Narcissa sat in his lap with her legs draped over the arm rest as she wrapped her arms around his torso and snuggled into his chest. Bellatrix by then had sat down on the couch as she tried to understand what was going on.

It was going to be a while for the Harry, Narcissa, and Tonks to tell the two women what had been left out from their earlier explanations.

* * *

><p><strong>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland; Library<strong>

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996**

While Harry was out and about, Hermione was in one of her favorite places, the library of Hogwarts. Yet even though she was in one of her favorite places, she couldn't focus on the reason it was such a place.

She sighed for the umpteenth time before she set the book she had been trying to read down and rubbed her eyes. Normally she didn't have this problem as she could multitask quite well, but her thoughts had made it to where she had spent the last hour reading the same page over and over again.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a soft voice asked from her left, causing Hermione to turn to see who had spoken. When she did she saw Katie with an armful of books standing a little bit away from her with a curious and concerned look on her face. As the slightly older witch took a seat, Hermione remained silent as she tried to form a response to Katie's inquiry.

"I guess I'm a bit confused with some things," Hermione said, though her tone made it clear even that she wasn't that sure of her statement. "Actually a lot of things," she rephrased her tone more sure.

"Like what exactly?" Katie asked concerned, seeing how the Hermione she remembered was always on a hair trigger for either a tantrum or a breakdown when she didn't know something.

"The easiest answer would be everything," Hermione replied before looking around discretely, seeing who was paying attention to them, if anyone was at all. Seeing no direct attention being paid, she discretely pulled her wand from within her sleeve and flicked it under the table. Several area of effect diversion, privacy, and alert spells she remembered from her time as an Auror snapped into existence so she and Katie could talk. Only those that had been returned would be able to pass through or even know they were there.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked a little confused at the broad ranged answer.

"I'm not really sure what I mean," Hermione said as she stared leaned back in her chair and looked towards the ceiling. "A lot of what I remember from our first life feels irrelevant now with us knowing what most of the events coming are. Also I feel as if everything I know about magic means nothing now after what happened this morning. Then there's a part of me that is curious how those of us that love Harry, and those that love Neville came to love them. Plus there's…"

"I get it," Katie interrupted with a small smile which grew slightly as Hermione huffed at being interrupted. "You have a lot on your mind and no idea where to start with that impressive intellect of yours."

The bushy haired witch blushed slightly at Katie's statement as she ducked her head in embarrassment. Katie giggled slightly at the look knowing Hermione was more prone to being embarrassed from compliments at her current age.

"Well I guess I can try and get you focused better," Katie said bringing Hermione's eyes back up to meet hers in both hope and confusion. "Let's start with how you feel about what you know about magic. My guess is you're still trying to logically piece out what Harry was talking about this morning and the theories we all read while in the afterlife?"

"Mostly yes," Hermione said with a sheepish grin. Katie just beamed back at the younger woman and said, "Well what Harry was talking about is something he was working on, and probably still is now that I think about it, how magic worked. When he brought all of us together before the Witch Hunt started, we all started to work with him in his research. I remember most everything we read we had already proved, and I'm certain that Harry proved many more after we had all passed on."

"So Harry breaking the 'rules of magic' will always be a part of who he is then?" Hermione asked though her tone conveyed it was more of an amused fact. Both girls shared in light laughter at the sally as Harry had always been known to do things that seemed impossible.

"So it seems," Katie conveyed once she had stopped laughing. "I guess the next and probably the most important thing for you is how those of us that love Harry came to love him in the first place? Well that and probably how we managed our unique relationships with him at the center right."

Seeing a blush of embarrassment erupt on Hermione's face Katie felt she hit the nail on the head.

"Well outside of what we talked about at that representation of King's Cross Station with how Luna beat some sense into Harry to get out of his funk, did you ever see who finally got Harry to open up and express his compassion for others again?" Hermione shook her head in denial at the inquiry as her expression went back to confusion. "No, I remember seeing him with each of you individually and sometimes together. I'm sure you remember we couldn't watch over him at all times otherwise we would have known how long he had been alone before coming back."

"Very true," Katie said though she had a small blush from the mentioning of Harry being with several of his loves at one time. "Well the thing is, is that Harry wasn't sure what to do after he started to open up to everyone on the island more. He already cared for each of us, hence why he saved us all before giving the go ahead on the Witch Hunt, but he was torn on starting a relationship with any of us. He said it was because he didn't want to cause anymore grief to anyone than what had already happened."

"Typical Harry," Hermione said with a smile, though she did take note of the brief mention of Harry signaling the Witch Hunt.

"Indeed," Katie said with a knowing smile about their mutual love.

"But then how did he come to accept you all, especially at the same time? From what I remember of Harry, his own views on polygamy were like mine were since he was raised in the non-magical world for the most part. And even then I didn't really change my views until all of you had arrived in that library."

"We owe everything about that to Fleur actually," Katie said simply with a deadpanned expression.

Hermione scoffed a little at the statement, thinking she was having a prank played on her, but when Katie's face didn't change expressions she blinked in surprise. "You're serious?"

"Very," Katie stated with her cheeky grin at the memory, "I'm sure you already know by now that Veela are _very_ affectionate beings and tend to lean more towards giving comfort with their bodies before they try and talk through whatever emotions the person they are trying to console is feeling. From what I remember she actually surprised him while he was taking a shower or bath, I can't remember which exactly, but you can pretty much guess went from there when she got a hold of him."

"Afterwards, he was embarrassed and angry to a very bad extreme. Most of it came from the fact she was married to Bill and didn't want to cause more strife with what remained of the Weasleys. It took her a long time to calm him down but she finally managed to get it into his head that she was there with Bill's full knowledge of why and what would likely happen. She also told him that while she understood to a certain extent what he was going through, but he needed to let those in that cared about him as they were being hurt by his shutting us out. The row between them though was actually pretty epic and even though Harry listened to what she said to some extent, he didn't talk to her for a few months after that."

"But how did the row between them get him to think of polygamy?" Hermione asked.

"It was more of her knowledge of love based bonds that brought the idea into Harry's head once they started talking again. By then Harry was already opening up again to everyone else and he was hyper focused on trying to find a way to use the Hallows to, well do what we are doing now. Alongside that focus though was him trying to find a way to make it so each of us never had to suffer what we went through again. He already knew a decent bit about the laws around love bonds, but on what magic actually does with them was something only Fleur knew about at the time. Harry was actually pretty upset at first when she first explained it as multiple women bound to a man, but when she managed to convey that while that part was true, it was something mutual between the man and all the women, well he got curious."

"I vaguely remember about those bonds," Hermione stated when Katie took a pause to breath. "It was during my time researching about House Elves. If I remember right it's the consort bond and it's based on the man's love for the woman or women in life, but for the bond to form with multiple women, all previous consorts, if living, have to have similar feelings for not only the man but the other woman or women as well. Or something that's like that."

"Exactly, well, more or less," Katie said with a mild blush at some her memories.

"Well I guess that explains how he got interested in such a relationship but, and I don't mean to sound mean, but how did he come to love all of you? Not to mention how did the girls that love Neville come to love him for that matter? I can understand Neville knowing about the bonds from the beginning but, well, if you look at it all the girls involved…" Hermione asked but trailed off at the end, not sure how to finish her words. The meaning got across though as Katie gave her a smile.

"Well outside of us loving Harry for being the kind and caring man that he is, a lot of it had to do with what he ended up talking with us about. And don't feel bad about asking the question of how we ended up as we did as it was a question all of us had towards each other as we settled with either Harry or Neville."

"Starting with Neville's girls though might make things a bit easier. Hannah you already know about being Neville's first wife. Pansy was actually the second one to fall in love with him after the massacre. It was a bit of a mixture of Nightingale Syndrome and him and Hannah always being there to help her. The only reason we know of what happened with Pansy during her Hogwarts years actually is because of the comfort Hannah and Neville gave her. Astoria falling in love with him was for much the same reason actually as she was with Pansy just as much as Hannah and Neville, though more for shared comfort in what Draco had done to them. It was a long time before either of them ever actually got over that to be honest."

"Su Li is actually a sort of funny case in that she had a crush on Neville since the Yule Ball. That crush never really faded and even for as shy as she is, she eventually found enough courage to talk to him after Harry and Neville found her. Well, I say Harry and Neville, but it was Harry who found the location and Neville was the one that did the actual rescuing."

"I'm guessing most of the girls falling in love with either Harry or Neville were cases of Nightingale Syndrome that actually did turn into love then?" Hermione asked suddenly interrupting Katie. The chaser scowled slightly at being interrupted again by the brilliant witch but as Hermione blushed at the look, she smiled softly letting her know she was only slightly annoyed.

"For most of us yes. You already heard the shortened version of what happened with most of us, and to be honest the longer version will just give you nightmares," Katie said with a hallowed look that she quickly tried to shake off. It didn't work to well as she still had a chill down her spine at the memories she had watched in her first life, not to mention her painful memory of hearing Leanne and Lee screaming in unholy agony as they died from that cursed necklace.

"Parvati and Lavender are both similar to the others, though they were actually the last to join and they did so at the same time from what I remember from Padma saying. The reason for them taking the longest was actually their wonder at being back together once Parvati and Padma had been rescued. Their actually falling for Neville though happened in our sixth year. They had both had crushes on Neville sometime around second or third year as they thought his shy personality was cute, but after that fight at the Ministry they saw a side of him that only you, Harry, and Luna saw until his seventh year and taking a stand against the Death Eaters teaching here."

"But… what about what happened with Lavender during our sixth year?" Hermione asked again, very confused on the matter since the entire itself seemed like one giant cluster of problems.

"The same thing that happened with you thanks to that bottomless pit," Katie said darkly and that was all she really needed to say as Hermione's own expression went from confusion to understanding to anger. It was silent between them for several minutes after that before they both managed to pull their thoughts back onto somewhat less dark process.

"That leaves the rest of us that fell for Harry," Hermione stated breaking the silence.

"Well you should already know how _you_ fell in love with Harry unless your memory isn't as impressive as the rest of think it is," Katie teased with a small grin.

"I walked into that one," the bushy haired witch groaned slightly but smiling slightly as her eyes took on a far off look, "But to be honest I can't really define a point that I fell for him. I know I started crushing on him after the incident with the troll but with everything that happened between us, I never really knew when it turned into outright love. I just knew that I'd always be there for Harry no matter what and he'd always be there for me, or we'd die trying."

Neither girl commented on such an event truly did happen.

"Well after you the next easiest is actually Daphne and Susan," Katie started back up and had to smile at the shocked look Hermione had at the statement. She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped either.

"It's not so shocking when you thing about it. From what they told us, you shared pretty much everything you did with Harry to them sparring only very small details and it was vicariously through you that they fell in love with Harry. They told us they actually tried to figure out who the hell was screwing with your personality in your sixth year most of the year since your attention shifted so drastically from Harry to Ron. They were pretty devastated during their seventh year actually when you didn't show back up in school and then seeming to forget about them after the Battle of Hogwarts."

Hermione looked to be close to tears when she said that and Katie paused to moved her chair closer to the younger woman's and envelope her in a tight hug. The brilliant witch clutched Katie back tightly as sobs started to escape her.

Both girls were shocked slightly when they felt a few other arms join in the hug and looking up found Daphne, Susan, Luna, and Tracey there with them. Minnie was there as well but standing a little bit away. Susan was directly behind Hermione, Tracey and Daphne on the sides, and Luna was directly behind Katie.

"Don't feel bad Hermione, we know it wasn't your fault," Susan said softly into Hermione's ear, bringing her out of her shock and starting the tears to flow again.

"Hey now, there is no reason to be crying over what that worm did. Or do I need to take your usual approach and hit you over the head with a book?" Daphne said firmly, though her tone was as soft as Susan's.

Hermione couldn't help the laughing sob Daphne's words caused and as quick as she could removed her arms from around Katie to turn in her seat and pull Daphne and Susan into one of her infamous crushing hugs. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin just returned the hug in equal intensity, even as Hermione kept mumbling 'I'm sorry' over and over again and their own tears fell. It was another several minutes before the trio broke their embrace and were wiping at their eyes with the sleeves of their robes.

As Hermione opened her mouth to apologize again though, from behind Tracey bonked her on the head lightly before saying, "No more apologies from you missy. Nothing about that year was your fault and we'll bloody make sure nothing like that happens again. And if you say I'm sorry one more time for what happened I'm going to do exactly as Daph' said and hit you upside the head with the biggest and heaviest book I can find."

Hermione's eyes widened at her words as her mouth snapped shut.

"I'm impressed Tracey. I thought only Harry could manage to make her stop in her tracks like that," Luna said in her usual spacey manner. The others chuckled as Hermione blushed and Tracey made an exaggerated bow as she grinned.

"When did you guys get here?" Katie asked when they stopped laughing at Hermione's expense.

"About the time that Hermione's memory slipped away from her," Susan said with a grin drawing out some more chuckles from the girls and intensifying the blush on Hermione.

"So you know she's curious about how we all fell in love with Harry then?" Katie clarified and got nods from the women present.

"I guess that means you already told her about Neville and his group then?" Tracey asked and got her confirming nod. "Well then since I'm here I can tell you how I fell for him then. It's actually simple really. I'm to Daphne what Lavender is to Parvati." Seeing Hermione's curious look, especially since she knew the brunette didn't know her that well, she continued, "Daphne and I have been friends since shortly after we started at Hogwarts. We both grew up knowing about the Boy-Who-Lived farce and were curious when we first saw Harry during the sorting. That curiosity changed into a crush when we learned he was a parselmouth during our second year, and later love as Daphne learned more about who Harry was through you. She told me everything you told her and with the way most Slytherins in our age range were, well are, it wasn't that hard to fall for him. When he finally rescued us from that hell that our lives became after Hogwarts, it only grew stronger. The rest you can say is pretty much history."

"And following her, mine is just as easy," Luna said drawing Hermione's attention. "Much like Harry was one of your first friends Harry was one of mine. Even though it took other's a while to get used to how I act normally, he saw past it for what it was and talked to me as an equal from the start. For that alone I fell in love with him. Everything else that happened after just made that love grow. And just like Tracey said Hermione, no more apologies for how you acted before. Things are different now and the past between us can stay there."

Hermione just nodded at the blond with small blush and pout at being chastised again. It annoyed her a little bit that the other girls were ganging up on her slightly but she figured she deserved it since she knew she was as hardheaded at times as Harry was.

"That leaves me, Narcissa, Padma, Cho, Tonks, and I guess you too Minnie, since we didn't know about your status the first time," Katie said while looking towards the older woman who had thus far been silent minus her chuckling.

"Very astute Katie," Minnie said with a smile before turning to Hermione, "I've actually loved Harry since the day he was born. It just changed forms slightly because of my status, especially after Charlus died and I learned I was willed to Harry. It took me a very long time to come to terms with the fact that someone I had first looked at as a grandchild would one day be my lover. Even then, I only partially accepted my feelings for Harry when Narcissa confided in me her own feelings for him as she was having much the same problem I was in accepting loving a man that was so much younger than us. It wasn't until he bound me this second time around that I've come to accept my feelings for him fully as he truly is everything I want in someone to love. He's caring, compassionate towards those who need it, understanding, and willing to fight for those he cares about no matter the cost to himself."

"And Narcissa is the same as you. Well about how she fell in love with Harry I mean," Katie stated when Minnie was done. "She told us pretty much what you just said when she joined us finally. It was the same for Tonks when talked to her spirit too actually. Granted it was crushing on Harry at first, which grew as she got to know him. She didn't start to love him until after she had died and watched how he raised Teddy. One of the last things she told us before we let her spirit rest was that she wished she could have been there to raise Teddy with Harry and wondered what it would have been like to actually have Harry as Teddy's biological father."

"That just leaves Cho and Padma," Hermione stated. She would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised by the dark looks that spread on the other girls' faces at her statement.

"Remember how I mentioned Harry sent Neville Parvati's location for him to rescue her?" Katie asked and Hermione could only nod as she was still in shock at their looks.

"Well how he learned of that location is when he found Cho and Padma. It was only by sheer luck that Padma was at the same location as Cho was at the time."

"Dumbledore has something to do with this I guess?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

"More like everything. The biggest reason he messed in so many girls lives was because he wanted to make sure Ginny was Harry's only option. For those of us that were too well known and watched like Susan, me and Luna, he had to be very careful with what how he manipulated things. With the girls that he though reminded Harry too much of you though, he took every measure to make sure they wouldn't be a factor in Harry's love life. You see, the guy that he had Cho end up with wasn't just an abusive husband, but he was a mundane associate of the old fucks from during the Second World War in trafficking enslaved women, both mundane and magical. He set it up so that Cho would become that bastard's property and that only after so many years could he finally sell her once he got bored with her. The fuck was trying to trade her for Padma when Harry found him finally, and that's where Harry got where Parvati was from," Katie said, her tone ice at the memories. Hermione knew she would be feeling anger later at what Dumbledore had done, and for what had happened to the other two girls, but at the moment she was trying to stop the churning in her stomach.

As the minutes passed the nausea she felt gave way to the anger she knew she would be feeling. It burned in the pit of her stomach just as much as her hatred for Ron did and she could feel herself growling the longer she thought about it.

Her thoughts were put on hold though as a white mist came sailing to a stop in front of Minnie. The voice of Hogwarts' healer then sounded out, "Minerva, I need you back at the Hospital Wing. The girl is going hysterical again. Come quickly and please have Miss. Granger or Mr. Potter with you."

"Why does Madam Pompfrey need me?" Hermione asked, very confused since the only reason she normally entered the hospital wing was when Harry was injured.

"I can't believe I got sidetracked," Minnie mumbled with a slight blush, even as she saw Hermione quickly gathering her books and bag. Katie was doing much the same thing. "I originally was coming to look for you as an unknown girl was found unconscious in the halls about an hour ago. Poppy and I were trying to figure out who she was as we're both sure we've seen her before but can't place where, when she woke up screaming. She only calmed down when she saw me and demanded where you and Harry were. I left to come find you, since Harry is out currently, and I told Poppy I'd be back shortly. Apparently I wasn't back soon enough."

"So you have no idea who this girl is or how she got into Hogwarts?" Susan asked as they left the library.

"Getting into Hogwarts isn't all that hard as Riddle has proven on several occasions, not to mention all the hidden pathways that are on the Marauder's map," Hermione stated.

"Very true," Minnie said, "But yes, I have no idea who she is, or how she knows Harry or Hermione for that matter."

"We'll find out when we get there then," Tracey stated, but thinking on it further added, "Well hopefully anyways. With Harry somehow involved, I say all bets are off on what could have happened."

The other's grinned and/or chuckled at her addendum before lapsing into silence as they made their way to the Hospital Wing. Once there they only made it in several steps before a girl with long silvery white hair and in what looked like an old Hogwarts uniform with Hufflepuff trim, burst from a private screen at the end of the hall.

"If you can't find them, I'll look for them myself!" the girl screamed over her shoulder at the screen as an obviously irate Poppy Pompfrey followed behind her at a more sedate pace. It was obvious why as not even a second later the girl was stumbled on her own feet as if her muscles gave out. She cried out as she tumbled to the stone floor and was struggling to push herself back up.

"You won't be going very far in your condition young lady. For whatever reason, most of your muscles while looking healthy are sending mixed signals to your brain. Now stop being so pigheaded and calm down until Professor McGonagall comes back with hopefully both Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger," Poppy scolded as she came to a stop at the girls feet with her wand leveled at the still struggling girl.

"I'm back finally Poppy, and I managed to find Ms. Granger," Minnie called out as she and the other girls walked towards the two.

At Hermione's last name, the head of the unknown girl snapped immediately to where Hermione was. It was then all of them were able to see the girl's vibrant Amber colored eyes and the frustration on her face turned into obvious relief. "Hermione!" the girl cried out, confusing the bushy haired witch to no end. She had never seen this girl in her life before but the girl obviously knew her.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Hermione asked gently as her head tilted to the side in confusion.

The girl mumbled something under her breath in frustration before doing something that shocked all people present in the wing to the core.

In but a moment the girl's form swiftly change from that of a human to that of an owl's before flying over to where Hermione stood thunder struck and landing on her shoulder. The reason that everyone was shocked though wasn't because the girl had turned into an owl, it was because of the owl itself was a very familiar one that they _all_ knew.

"Hedwig?" Hermione whispered out in shock, even as the owl rubbed against her face in affection.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. On top of moving, I just couldn't seem to get the scenes down that I wanted to, as I've had to rewrite a good portion of this chapter lord knows how many times. I did manage to get out everything I wanted though, and hopefully everything reads well. If not, please let me know because I've gotten frustrated enough with this chapter that rereading is a pain at the moment.

Hopefully the next chapter will be coming a lot sooner as things will at least be picking up in the story.


	8. CH 7: Glimpse the Unthinkable

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or ideas created that are used here that have been published and copyrighted, but in this story the ideas and any characters that are not canon, and are not directly credited to another author, are my own and I make no money from this story.**

**A/N: Yeah... I know I said I'd have this chapter out sooner, but when a muse throws a wall in front of you of technical details and poorly flowing concepts... There's not much you can do. It doesn't help when you get distracted by various real life things as well, but it's finally here! Hope you enjoy it :)**

**Recommended Story: "Faery Heros" It's a response to one of Paladeus' challenges and is quite entertaining! It's not as crack oriented as I had expected but it flows very well and has a decent amount of humor to offset some the serious to keep the tone light. **

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Glimpse the Unthinkable**

**Location: Tonks Residence**

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996; 3:22PM**

Harry was sitting on the couch in the living room of Andromeda's and Ted's house, with Tonks and Narcissa sitting to his right and left respectively. They were sitting calmly while they watched a distraught, angry, and confused Bellatrix Lestrange march back and forth in front of them, mumbling under her breath at a rate that Harry had only seen Hermione accomplish before.

On the other side of the room, Andromeda was sitting with her head down and a contemplative look on her face, not paying attention to her sister at all, in the chair her daughter had placed her in earlier when she had been bound. Her reason for being back in said chair was from the very long discussion that Narcissa, Harry, and her daughter had had with her and Bellatrix. That conversation was also the reason for Bellatrix's current pacing.

They had all shifted about as needed during the long conversation, mostly due to needing to shift positions from sitting, and in one instance to get food as several stomachs had started to growl. It never really stopped though even when they all migrated to the kitchen for food, then back to the living room once the food was ready.

After the small interlude for food however, they got back to discussion what had happened. Or rather, Harry and Narcissa talked mostly, with Andromeda and Bellatrix asking questions here and there. Tonks added her own questions sometimes as well since she didn't know everything that the other two did, but for the most part was silent unless she was asked a clarifying point directly.

The current situation for Bellatrix and Andromeda though was from them having finally finished their talk about what had they had learned about what had happened. After some time, Bellatrix finally stopped pacing before she slumped into a chair next to Andi. The movement was enough to snap Andromeda from her own thoughts as she looked at her sister curiously.

"Well, your thoughts?" Narcissa asked, drawing her two older sisters' attention back to the trio on the couch.

"If it wasn't for the fact I have my memories back, I'd say this was a very strange elaborate story. Even so, I'm still having trouble believe everything you've told me," Andi stated with a deadpanned expression.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at that. He'd probably think the same thing if he hadn't actually lived through it.

"Something I don't understand though is why weren't any children born amongst those you saved after the Witch Hunt?" Bellatrix asked drawing startled looks from the others. It wasn't something any of them expected her to focus on, but given her change in attitude, not to mention why Death had sent her back, it was at least slightly reasonable.

"It's because of the Witch Hunt," Narcissa stated, seeing as how Harry had looked to her to answer with a questioning look. If she had been in his head then, she would have heard him asking the same question as Bellatrix as he had never thought about it even after he had gotten together with his loves.

She was still looking at Harry when she had answered the question and wasn't surprised by his curious look turning into a frown. His change in demeanor did cause her to wince internally though as it was a well known thing amongst all the women that loved Harry that what he cherished most was his family, especially his children.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"It was something the girls talked about after that picture we took with everyone on the island," Narcissa replied. "We were all curious why none of us had gotten pregnant again after we had bonded with you, especially as we we never tried to stop ourselves from having kids. We all were still having our monthlies and for a while we thought it might have been the men." Harry had an angry and somewhat embarrassed look at that which Narcissa took second to reassure him, "We found out it wasn't any of the men Harry as all of your swimmers were quite active and well in number."

The blush that erupted on his face at the blunt statement made her giggle as the others gawked.

"Anyway, what we found out was that when magic receded from the planet, those that were born magical couldn't have children anymore."

"But I know of children that were born from at least one magical parent," Harry said in confusion.

"And your answer is within your statement," Narcissa chided slightly even though she had a small grin, "Whatever gender the magical parent was, the other was mundane. But for all of us, we are all magical. The easiest way to think of it is that as magic retracted from the world, it made it so that no two magical could make create another life after having those with it causing so much destruction."

"The Witch Hunt did that?" Harry asked in some disbelief as a deep frown spread on his face.

Knowing exactly why Harry's mood was darkening she cupped his cheek softly before kissing him gently to distract his thoughts. When she broke the kiss, she said, "That's all in the past now Harry. We get to make sure something like that never happens again."

Tonks didn't see his face so was a little confused as to what Narcissa was alluding to, as were Bellatrix and Andromeda. But where Tonks couldn't see his face, the other two older women could and both could tell that Harry was deeply troubled about something pertaining to the Witch Hunt, something that Narcissa knew but was unwilling to talk about.

Deciding on breaking the somber mood somewhat, Andi said, "So I really will get to see Teddy again then and hopefully some more _pleasant_ additions to the Black Family."

She couldn't stop the grin that split her face even if she wanted to as her daughter, sister, and Harry all turned bright red.

Whatever would have been said next though was interrupted as a very loud cry of echoed in four out of the five people's heads.

"_Harry, we need you back at Hogwarts!" _Katie's voice resonated in their skulls making them wince and hold their hands to their ears as if it would keep out the noise.

Harry could immediately feel a headache coming on from the ringing in his ears and the throbbing his brain was doing from the unexpected shout. Even having been prepared for those returned getting used to the pearls Katie's voice came out beyond what he had expected.

It was several seconds after that, though, that Katie's words processed in his head.

"_Katie, what's wrong? Did something happen?" _Harry asked.

"_Sort of,"_ Katie replied her voice just as loud as before. This time he was ready though so her voice wasn't as loud. Seeing Tonks, Narcissa, and Andi wince while rubbing their temples made him feel a small measure of guilt as it was obvious they hadn't the expertise to reduce the level of Katie's voice yet. "_There's something up with Hedwig and Hermione is in the hospital wing unconscious. I'm not sure how to explain it without you here."_

That certainly got his attention as a frown spread on his face. He hadn't thought about his familiar in a very long time even though he did plan on making sure she wasn't put in a position like she had been in when she died. But hearing something was wrong with her made him worry slightly, especially as he hadn't been to see her yet since returning. Not to mention the slew of emotions that stirred within him at hearing Hermione being unconscious.

"_I'm on my way Katie,"_ Harry said and paused for a second before adding, "_And try and be a bit quieter when using the pearls, especially the shout like feature."_

"_Sorry,"_ Katie's voice came back, much quieter than before and he could feel the sheepish grin she most likely had.

"That's my cue to head back to Hogwarts," Harry said, though mostly for Bellatrix's benefit. The older witch turned a confused gaze onto him at his statement before it dawned on her that something must have happened with the pearls.

"Should we come with you?" Tonks asked with a slight strain in her voice.

"At the moment no, as I'm at least fairly sure nothing that requires drastic measures is needed right now. You and Narcissa stay here and I guess get more reacquainted with your mom and Bellatrix," Harry replied before focusing entirely on Bellatrix. "You should know Bella that I'll at the very least be telling the other's that your back as well, but you should be prepared for whatever retribution some of them might want, especially Neville and Hermione."

"I-I can live with that. It's more than I deserve," Bellatrix said her voice sounding small as she looked at the ground in shame. It was obvious that she was also fighting back tears as her body started to shake slightly.

Groaning slightly as he knew he sounded far harsher than he meant, he moved to her side briefly before hugging her. "Don't worry Bella I'm positive it won't be as bad as whatever your head is cooking up."

"How can you be so sure with how you reacted at just seeing me?"

He couldn't stop his body from stiffening at her question before he pulled back to look into her Violet eyes. Deciding on the side of truth rather than comfort he said, "To be honest I can't truly predict any of their reactions. I _can_ promise you however that I'll be there when you talk with them finally to at the very least prevent another incident of you getting attacked."

The words didn't do that much to reassure Bellatrix but she nodded in understanding. After that he stood and gave Andromeda a hug before turning to Narcissa and Tonks and giving them a hug and kiss goodbye. He told them to be careful and to stay alert, especially to Narcissa as she'd have to be at Malfoy Manor until they had a plan to deal with the Malfoys.

Bidding them adieu again, he focused on where he wanted to go and disappeared from the room without a sound.

**Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland; Hospital Wing**

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996; 4:46PM**

Susan couldn't help but stare at the situation that was going on in the wing currently. She was sitting on a bed between Daphne and Katie facing an unconscious Hermione. On a bed on the other side of the brunette were Tracey, Luna, and the unknown girl who had changed into Hedwig, while Poppy and Minnie were talking at the foot of Hermione's bed. Minnie had cast a privacy spell after Poppy had whispered something to her fiercely and the two had been talking ever since.

When Hermione had uttered the owl's name in disbelief, she had been speechless for several seconds longer before fainting. The others in the Hospital Wing had still be in shock at seeing the girl change into the well known snowy owl so hadn't even moved to catch the brilliant witch as she fell. The shriek of surprise from the owl, not to mention the loud smack as Hermione's head hit the stone floor, snapped them all back to reality.

Madam Pomfrey, after shaking off whatever had been going through her head, had rushed to the downed witch's side and immediately cast a diagnostic charm on her. The frown that came onto her face had the other women scared for a second as they thought the fall had done a great deal more than expected. Hedwig had landed on Minnie's shoulder when she was forced to move from Hermione's as the younger woman fell though it was clear to any who looked at her that she was just as concerned as the rest of them at Hermione's state.

Pomfrey grumbled something under her breath that none of them heard as she stood back up and floated Hermione's body from the floor to the nearest bed. When the brilliant girl was on the bed, she starting casting more spells over the witch that the others could tell were, at the very least, diagnostic spells. During several of the castings however the matron's frown grew deeper which cranked up their worry more.

The worry was soon accompanied by confusion once the matron stopped casting and eyed all the women present. It was common for anyone to feel uncomfortable under the old woman's gaze as she seemed to have a knack for looking at you in such a way you were compelled to tell her at least whatever it was you were feeling. It didn't help any when she started casting diagnostic charms on each of them and her expression turned into pursed lips as she got her results from the spells.

Her last look was split between Hedwig and Minnie before waving Minnie over and by association Hedwig as well. The frown turned into a slight scowl however as the matron noticed an almost impossible tell about the older woman as she moved only a few steps to be within an arms length of her.

The woman then looked back at the younger women and said, "All of you please take a seat on the beds. You too miss… whoever you are."

The last sentence was directed at the snowy owl on Minnie's shoulder.

Her tone had the girls complying before their brains registered what they were doing and they had quickly sat on the two beds adjacent with Hermione. Hedwig flew from her position on Minnie's shoulder to land on the bed next to Luna where she transformed back. The others could see her concern and confusion clearly then, especially as she stared at the matron in mild shock.

Minnie herself was confused as Poppy pulled her to the foot of the bed where the matron had demanded she put up the strongest privacy spell she knew so they could talk.

Judging by the way Poppy seemed to be fluctuating between anger and confusion, Susan figured Minnie was revealing some of what she knew from the future. Katie had already informed those still conscious that she'd notified Harry the second Minnie put up the barrier and that he was on his way.

Hedwig had looked confused when Katie had mentioned contacting Harry but didn't ask the question that was clear on her face.

That had been about fifteen minutes ago and he had yet to show up making them a little worried. The worry went up a little bit more as Harry finally arrived but it was clear to all that he was incredibly annoyed at something. Not to mention he was escorting a shivering Clarice with his robe wrapped around her shoulders and the makings of a bruise on her cheek.

"Sorry that took so long," he said as he entered, his tone very strained, "I had a run in with the ferret on my way here."

Whatever reply or question that was on any of the girls lips were ripped from them as not two seconds after Harry had entered the wing and closed the door that silencing spell around Minnie and Poppy came down. This was followed very quickly by the two older woman moving to where Harry was as he lead the shivering, and now that they were closer and could hear and see, quietly crying girl, to the bed next to the one Katie, Susan, and Daphne were sitting on.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Krueger, what happened?" Poppy demanded the second she by the two people's side.

Her harsh tone only made the girl curl into herself as she pulled her knees towards her chest and wrapped the robe tighter around her. The matron cringed internally as something had obviously happened to her, but she was withdrawing into herself.

"She was being accosted by Malfoy in the hallways. I found them on my way here and dealt with it," Harry replied softly. It was obvious his tone was still strained, not to mention like he was holding back a great deal of anger.

Poppy just turned and have him a look he had seen her use countless times on him before to get more information. Usually it made him fidget if he was trying to get out of staying in the wing, or had him spilling his guys on what was ailing him. At the moment though it just helped to annoy him more as he already planned on telling her in the first place.

"I'm not sure what he was saying when I came across Malfoy having pinned Clarice against the wall. I heard her cry for help before I saw him backhand her and she fell to the ground. I saw her jumper and skirt torn and that's when I stepped in and dealt with the ferret before giving her my robe and bringing her here since I was already headed here anyways."

"And how have you dealt with Mr. Malfoy?" she inquired, more like demanded since he left that out.

"Smashed his head into the wall a couple of times and left him there on the stairs," Harry muttered. He knew he'd be in a bit of trouble if Malfoy knew who hurt him but he didn't really care at the moment. Between the rapidly changing emotions he'd been having all day, not to mention the early morning in harvesting the Basilisk, it wasn't surprising he was edgy.

Poppy gave him a sharp look before moving the edge of Clarice's bed. A quick wave of her wand an a potion vial came hurtling towards her now outstretched hand where she caught it.

"This is a Dreamless Sleep potion Ms. Krueger. I'm asking you to take this so I can check up on you and make sure you are alright."

The girl nodded her head slightly as she let her legs down a bit and took the offered potion. She grimaced slightly at the taste before starting to feel drowsy very quickly.

"Please don't punish Harry too much, he helped me," were her partially slurred words before she fully fell asleep and Poppy helped lay her down in the bed, covering her with the blanket that had been folded at the bottom.

She then conjured a screen to protect the girl's privacy before turning to a slightly bewildered Harry who had moved over to the foot of Hermione's bed. He had moved when Poppy had given Clarice the potion to ask Minnie what had happened to Hermione and where was Hedwig.

Before Minne could answer his question though, Poppy had reached his side hissed, "Mr. Potter what in the bloody hell have you been doing to these women?"

"Huh?" was his very intelligent response, as he had no clue as to what she was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Mr. Potter," Poppy all but growled out as she stared down the wizard with narrowed eyes. "Your magic signature is all over them and their own cores are unstable from whatever it is you did to them!" By the time Poppy had finished her brief tirade, she was within a foot of Harry and poking him rather harshly in the chest as he stood his ground.

"_Uh, Min, a little help please? What's she talking about?"_ Harry asked though the pearls.

He heard Minnie's sigh from both his ears and his head before she replied, "Poppy, Harry has done nothing wrong to the girls. I've been trying to tell you that but you aren't listening."

The matron turned to level her gaze on her friend but whatever she had been planning to say died in her throat as Minnie canceled the glamour charm.

Internally Minnie said, "_Harry, cast the privacy spell as it's probably best we tell her everything."_

Harry didn't need telling twice and had already cast it when he felt Minnie had dropped her glamour.

"_Are you sure this is a good idea Min?"_ Harry asked as he observed the spell taking place. He was a little shocked to see a faint glow appear around the beds, walls, ceiling and floor of the wing as his privacy spell took place. It only took a few moments to realize though that what had been dispelled was likely how Poppy always knew when a patient needed something, or was trying to sneak out of the ward without her knowing. They were most likely wards and spells used to monitor a person's health and presence in her domain. He made a mental note to help her recast them before he left and to add a couple other wards to help with a patients care.

"M-Minerva, what happened to you? How do you look like this?" Poppy's now much quieter and shocked voice asked, bringing Harry away from his brief thoughts.

Minnie snorted slightly as the question as she crossed her arms over her chest before answering, "You should know why I look like this Poppy. You've known what I was ever since I started working here."

The matron cringed at the annoyed tone her friend took with her before turning a frosty glare onto Harry.

"I was under the impression you would not be claiming her until after you graduated Mr. Potter," Poppy said with about as much warmth as a glacier. She was more than a little surprised when he didn't even flinch or shy away from her tone or stare. In fact, he just raised an eyebrow and matched her glare with one of annoyance.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I know Minnie is your friend, I'd be wondering how the hell you know about what she was to begin with," Harry started, his annoyance coming through in his tone loud and clear, "As it is though, I'm more curious as to who told you that I knew of my inheritance and everything it entailed?"

Her glare turned to confusion at his question.

"The Headmaster informed me not long after the Yule Ball last year. He implied he had already informed you what claiming her sooner would cause."

Poppy was more than a little surprised when his curious gaze turned furious in an instant. The pressure in the room skyrocketed and she felt as if her chest was about to explode. She only had time to gasp once before the pressure vanished suddenly as Harry closed his eyes and took several deep breaths and released them slowly.

When he opened them again, she had to hold back another gasp as it seemed like his eyes were glowing as his gaze seemed to see into her very soul. "Lemme guess, he's been telling the world he's been doing his job as my 'magical guardian' and that everything is fine?" he asked.

The matron could only nod slightly in response as she tried to keep her gaze on his. The pressure came back again, though no where near as intense as before, before settling once more as Harry muttered under his breath darkly, before calming himself once more.

The healer part of her brain kicked in finally and took in that he was trying very, very hard to control his emotions. While she knew he already tried to hide his emotions on a regular basis, the almost unnoticeable shaking of his body told her he'd be holding in more than she had originally thought. Not to mention that his magic was reacting to his emotions, as was the case with most accidental magic, but it might explain why his magic was all over at least Hermione and the unknown girl. With Minnie showing that he'd claimed her, that explained a lot of what she could tell about her friend by looks alone.

"What's wrong with Hermione?"

Harry's voice startled the matron as she looked back to his face. He had turned during her thoughts to look at his friend and his expression had changed from irritated to concern. She had missed the questioning look he had given to the other young women who had shrugged, not knowing what was wrong with Hermione outside of possible concussion.

"Ms. Granger is fine physically, though she will have a headache when she wakes up," she replied while watching his face as he turned to her with a relieved expression. "What I want to know is why your magical signature is almost smothering Ms. Granger's."

He blinked a couple of times at that in confusion. "What do you mean smothering? We've been doing fine in class and haven't any issue casting anything since we came back..." Harry said, trailing off at the end when he realised what he was about to say.

This just made the matron give him that demanding information look again.

"Explain what you are alluding to Mr. Potter," she said firmly. Harry ignored the tone and turned to Minnie for help as Poppy hadn't been on the list of those they had planned to inform. The older woman sighed at his almost lost puppy look and knew they'd have to tell her friend some of what was to come. At the very least they'd have to tell he how they came back to this time.

That thought brought up another one that she had been ignoring since Harry had entered the hospital wing though and a frown formed on her face, making Harry a little confused, before she turned to the unknown girl.

"Poppy, before we explain what Harry is talking about, I believe we have forgotten to address the issue of our mystery guest who requested his and Hermione's presence in the first place," Minnie stated.

Poppy was agitated at herself for having forgotten about the young woman, not to mention the other young women when confronting Harry.

Said young woman was now blushing though as everyone staring at her with questioning looks, though Harry's was more in confusion as he took in her appearance. The long silvery white hair and amber eye's resonated with something in his memory but he didn't know why. Even with her robes marking her as a Hufflepuff, he wasn't able to bring up any memory of having ever met her in this timeline, or the one he came from.

"Miss..." Minnie's firm tone broke Harry from his thoughts of trying to figure out why it felt like he knew the girl.

The girl however gulped audibly as if she was scared before changing once more into the beautiful snowy owl that Harry had been attached to every since coming to the magical world.

All of his thought processes came to a screeching halt however as he stared slack jawed at the image of his familiar. She shifted from talon to talon in obvious nervousness at his expression before changing back into the girl that she apparently was.

Her blush was deeper then but she was also looking at the ground as she fiddled with her robes.

"H-Hedwig?! But... What... How... Huh?!" Harry stammered in confusion before he did the exact same thing as Hermione and passed out. It wasn't too surprising when you factored in the chaotic day he'd had so far.

The other girls blinked in shock at him doing that, though thankfully Poppy caught him with a levitation charm as he collapsed. Susan, Daphne, and Katie moved from where they were sitting then as Poppy moved Harry so that he was laying down in the bed before staring back at the still blushing girl.

"Care to tell us who you are now at the least miss? Or should we continue to call you Hedwig now that you've been somewhat identified?" Poppy asked.

"It's Sophie. Sophie Albarn," the girl, now known as Sophie, said softly while still looking at the ground.

Both Minnie and Poppy looked to each other at hearing that name. It rang a bell in their minds but they couldn't place why. An awkward silence ensued for several minutes as those in the wing tried to figure out what to say.

Luna was the one to break the ice however as very suddenly she stood up and moved to stand in front of Sophie, startling the girl slightly at the sudden movement. When she looked up, the blond was smiling widely while extending her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sophie. I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood," she greeted in her usual spacey voice.

Sophie shook her hand with a mildly confused expression as she replied, "Um... thank you."

"You're welcome," was Luna's cheerful response as she released Sophie's hand. "Though could you explain to us how you are apparently a witch as the last we understood, Hedwig was just Harry's familiar and not an Animagus."

"It... kinda has to tie in with what Madam Pomfrey was asking, I think," Sophie started hesitantly, and flinched slightly when the cheerful expression on Luna vanished into a focused and demanding stare.

What followed was how she knew about how, or rather when, Harry had returned, which turned into an abridged explanation of how the other girls had been returned. The result of the conversation left Poppy with a headache as it had given rise to many unanswered questions on her part.

Poppy just knew that those answers were going to cause her, and more than likely a few others, massive headaches. The thought prompted her to check her stores and make sure she had plenty of potions to deal with those headaches.

**Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland; Hospital Wing**

**Time: Sunday May 5, 1996; 8:35PM**

Hermione sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath, eyes unfocused and in a near panic. She wasn't aware of her surroundings for what felt like an eternity to her, but was only around a minute, until her breathing started to come and impressive intellect started assert itself into her conscious mind once more.

From the soft candle glow throughout the room and the darkness outside the windows, she determined it was nighttime. Across the room from her she saw a line of beds, all dressed out the same way and spaced evenly apart.

"_I'm in the hospital wing?"_ she thought to herself in confusion before what had happened earlier that day came back to her in a rush.

Her eyes opened wide in shock as she sucked in a gasp of air in disbelief. The gasp was followed quickly by a groan as a splitting pain throbbed in the back of her head and she moved both of her hands to gingerly feel the small lump there.

The brilliant witch's vision glazed over slightly from the pain in her head but was soon invaded by a hand holding a vial in front of her face. She recoiled slightly at the sudden intrusion and nearly shrieked as well. Her vision sharpened though as her eye's looked up into those of a rather amused looking Minerva with her glamour back in place.

"It's a pain relief potion. You smacked your head on the ground rather soundly when you fainted," the older woman stated before a sheepish expression bloomed on her face, "We were all a little shocked by her transformation and didn't react in time to catch you."

Hermione gained a look of understanding then as it explained the pain in her head. She pulled one hand from her head to take the vial before downing it's contents. It took all her willpower to not gag, or worse regurgitate, the foul tasting potion but she couldn't deny it's effects as the pain started to numb almost instantly.

She closed her eye and took even steady breaths for the next few minutes as the pain subsided and the pressure in her skull reduced to nothing.

"Thanks Min," she said softly as she opened her eyes and gave the older woman a broad smile.

"You're quite welcome, though I do say you and Harry have another thing in common now," Minnie said with a chuckle.

At the younger woman's confused look, the professor motioned for her to look at the other bed that she was standing next to.

She had to blink a couple of times when she saw the occupants of the bed, or rather how they were positioned.

The unknown girl, at least for her, that was also Hedwig was leaning against the headboard with her body canted slightly, with an unconscious Harry leaning against her chest. Said girl had her right arm wrapped around his chest holding him close to her while her left hand was trailing through his hair softly. The beautiful girl was also staring at Harry's form adoringly while she cuddled with him. She felt her cheeks heat up a bit at the rather intimate scene before her brain started to register what it was she was seeing.

It wasn't surprising to her she didn't really feel jealousy that another woman was holding Harry like that, but the irritation that was rapidly building in her chest was pushing her emotions to override her logical side.

When she turned back to Minerva, her irritation at the unknown girl seemed to plateau at the older woman's amused grin, though it was quickly joined by the irritation that it was obviously something Minerva was aware of that she wasn't. The look just made the feline animagus' grin turn into a smile before she cleared her throat softly.

The sound caused a soft sound to occur from Harry's direction and when Hermione looked back her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes had met with those oh so familiar amber colored eyes of Harry's familiar but had infinite more volume to them. At the moment that volume was blasting happiness at seeing Hermione awake and okay and the bushy haired witch felt her irritation shattered at the honest emotion on the girls face.

"I'm glad your okay Hermione. I'm sorry I startled you before," the girls soft voice carried in the wing easily and Hermione couldn't help but think her voice fit with what she knew of Hedwig.

"Thanks... Hedwig?" Hermione replied, the uncertainty on how to address the girl very clear in her voice.

The soft giggle in response made her blush a little in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she mumbled in consternation.

"It's alright. I became quite attached to the name Harry gave my form," the amused reply came. "It's Sophie Albarn by the way. And it's a pleasure to finally be able to say hello to you and have you actually understand it."

"I guess it would be," Hermione stated as she took in the appearance of the silver haired girl, noting the old fashion style of her clothes, even for the wizarding world.

She was staring so intently at her that the soft giggle it elicited from Sophie snapped her attention back to staring into amused amber eyes. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment again as she gave a sheepish grin.

"I'm certain you already have a bunch of questions lined up for her Hermione, but you'll have to wait a little while," Minerva's voice sounded, drawing both of the girls attention to her.

Sophie already understood what she meant but Hermione was confused and her expression showed as much.

"You and Harry have been out for a few hours. The others are at the evening meal keeping appearances and making sure the other's know and will be back once it's over. If you hadn't woken up by then Poppy would have woken you both up as there are several things she needs to tell us."

This only made the brunette's confusion worse as she furrowed her brows trying to think of what the healer would need to talk them about. The questioning thought brought the rest of her thinking to a halt though as he eyes widened in fear as she realised the matron was aware of them being from the future.

Minerva was prepared for this reaction though, especially as she saw Hermione go from startled to starting to hyperventilate. She placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder and squeezed firmly enough to distract her to look back to the older witch.

"Don't worry. I know we weren't planning on telling her anything but Harry slipped up when he saw you unconscious. Thankfully her knowing now seems to have headed off a problem we weren't aware of."

"What do you mean? We are all perfectly healthy as far as I'm aware," Hermione questioned curiously.

"And your answer is in your own statement Ms. Granger," the voice of the school nurse came from down the row of beds and behind a curtain that was there. Hermione blinked once more as the curtain hadn't been there before.

It didn't matter too much for her though as the matron was quick to step out from the curtains, closing them behind her, and walking the short distance to her bed. Not even a second later she had her wand out and was casting several charms at Hermione. The brunette wasn't that worried about the results the healer would receive as she was positive she was fine.

That turned out to be not the case however as the older woman sighed while shaking her head and mumbling something under her breath.

"Madam Pomfrey?" the brilliant witch asked concerned.

"It'll be easier to explain once the rest of your... group if you will, is here. Or rather it will be easier to explain everything all at once," Poppy replied, "It's nothing of a matter of immediate concern, though it is something you and the other's will have to take care of soon enough. Like you said earlier, as far as any of your group were aware, you were all fine. In a general enough sense that's true, but from what I've been told, none of you had been dedicated healers."

The brilliant witch blushed slightly at the rebuke as Poppy was indeed right. Even before she had died, she didn't know that much in the way of healing, just enough to fix injuries. From what she could also remember from watching the others, none of them had spent a dedicated focus on the healing arts. The best that could be said from their knowledge was when they were trying to figure out why Harry wasn't aging like the rest of them.

Poppy watched somewhat amused as the young woman's eyes glazed over as she started to use her intellect. She had seen it more than enough times to understand the brilliant young mind was trying to work out what could be wrong with them. It was amusing to watch, just as long as you didn't interrupt her unless it was important. Not that it would matter for Poppy, but she had seen on numerous occasions Harry or Ron doing just that and receiving a thorough dressing down.

It wasn't that long though before Hermione's eyes came back into focus as she shook her head from whatever thoughts she had. She then looked back over at Sophie and Harry, smiling slightly as the silver haired girl was back to running her fingers through his hair while smiling at his sleeping form.

"I guess I should wake up Mr. Potter then as the other's should be arriving soon," Poppy stated, startling the two young women as a comfortable silence had fell over the hospital wing.

Needless to say, they were all startled when Harry responded, "I'm already awake Madam Pomfrey."

He had a sheepish grin on his face as he opened his eyes to look at the incredulous looks from the women present, though he couldn't see Sophie's expression.

"Harry, how long have you been up?" Hermione asked after getting over her brief shock.

"A little while before you did," he said with a sheepish grin as he sat up, removing himself from Sophie's grasp, and turning to face towards Hermione's bed. "I wasn't sure who was holding me, but I was quite comfortable and after everything that's happened today so far, I was tired and enjoying just relaxing for a spell."

It was then he turned to the now very nervous and sheepish looking Sophie. She was staring at him with slightly widened eyes, and those same vibrant amber eyes he was so familiar with started to mist as her bottom lip started to tremble.

Reaching up with his hand, he gently cupped the girls cheek rubbed his thumb over a lone tear that had escaped before she had closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"I always knew you were special, I just didn't know how much until now. I'm very glad to finally meet the real you Sophie Albarn," he said softly.

The amber eyed witch's eyes open suddenly at his greeting, tears now falling freely, before she launched herself forward to bury her face into his chest as she clung to him tightly. Harry smiled sadly as he held the now sobbing young woman to him. She was mumbling something between her sobs, but it was inaudible to all but her.

He could understand her emotions though as his mind drifted back to the last time he had seen her. Seeing her lifeless form in his cage during that horrific escape from the Private Drive had been one of the toughest moments of his early years and now knowing that it was a young woman that had died made it that much worse.

They had spent six years together, him always talking to 'Hedwig,' praying and wishing he could understand her past interpretations of her actions. She had been his biggest confidant, even more so than Hermione, and he had shared all of his secrets and emotions with the beautiful snowy owl.

Now that they were back, he felt ashamed that he hadn't thought of what he had thought was his familiar until Katie had mentioned her. Emotions that had long since been buried and put behind him came roaring back to the surface, and his eyes started to mist as well as he held her tighter to him.

They weren't alone for long however as Hermione had moved from her bed to his to sit behind Sophie and wrap her arms around her and Harry as well to offer more comfort to her.

Minnie would have joined in comforting the girl if Poppy hadn't stopped her, reminding her that until the others came back. That statement seemed to open the floodgates, so to speak, as not long after the rest of the group started to show up alone or in pairs.

Neville was actually the last one to show up in the ward, and right after having entered cast the same sealing spell that had been used before.

The influx of people had alerted the trio on the bed and they broke up from their group hug, all with sad pleased smiles. Sophie had wiped her eyes after sitting up fully, and turned to give Hermione her own bone crushing hug. The bushy haired witch chuckled slightly at being on the receiving end though returned the hug with equal fervor.

A chorus of giggles and soft chuckles brought the two girls to focus on the group that had taken seats on the beds around Harry's or conjured a chair to sit in. They ended the hug with sheepish expressions and small blushes decorating their faces as Harry, who had been amongst those that chuckled, had to refrain from laughing outright.

To make sure they were able to face the others though he motioned the girls to stand before transfiguring the bed into a couch then sitting back down. The girls promptly joined him, Hermione to his left and Sophie his right. The green eyed wizard had to bite back another chuckle though at seeing Poppy's reaction to his transforming one of her beds. Her eyebrow was twitching in irritation from her seat of her own conjured chair and he could almost hear her internal ranting at his 'callous regard for her medical facilities.'

"I'll change it back once where done talking," Harry said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head, "I'll even help to put back the charms I dispelled earlier."

The matron's eyebrow seemed to twitch more rapidly at the statement as she leveled a glare at him.

"That would be most appreciated Mr. Potter, but first let's get this discussion out of the way as it of some importance you understand what all of you have done to your body. Well most of you did," she said, though with the last sentence she was staring at Sophie with some irritation.

The girl had refused to explain how she came to be locked in her animagus form until Harry and Hermione were awake. When questioned why, the girl just blushed slightly and refused to speak or meet anyone's eyes.

"I heard you mention that earlier, not to mention what you were trying to interrogate me about," Harry commented as he noted the looks Poppy sent at Sophie.

"I will apologise for how I confronted you Mr. Potter, especially as I found out that you weren't the only one whose magic was almost smothering these young women," Poppy responded as she turned her gaze to focus on a blushing though smiling Neville, "Before I explain what that means in the long term, as it's effects are more damaging in such an instance, I have to ask what issues you've been having since you've apparently come back in time. And I mean all of you, not just Mr. Potter."

As the others looked to him to respond first, the response that appeared on his tongue had Harry almost biting his own tongue in irritation to keep himself from speaking. The dreaded response for him of 'I'm fine' had been hammered out of him long ago, but in his more youthful body, the response was still habit. His hesitation in answering got a withering look from the matron as if she expected him to say the phrase.

Taking a deep breath, he squashed the urge to utter those two syllables as he focused on all the problems he'd had in a general sense since coming back.

"Before I did the ritual to unbind my core," he started which got an angry look and sharp intake of breath from the matron, which he promptly ignored, "My magic was reacting lethargically. I know most of it was because this body hasn't been trained to direct it like my older one had, not to mention my core itself was bound which made it worse. After that though, it's been reacting how I expected it to when casting and gathering it like I did before. I can cast most everything like I did before, though it takes a little while to get anything require fines down as I'm still working on getting my control back to the same level. Outside of that, I've been getting some headaches every now and then, not to mention my emotions are running rampant, even with my mental shields in place to help. The headaches are usually a result of my emotions getting out of control too."

"We'll come back to your use of an unsupervised ritual on a bound core in a moment," Poppy said when stopped, annoyance clear in her voice, "However, how have you been sleeping? Any more nightmares or feeling tired when you're awake?"

"Outside of waking up rather early today," he drawled while sending Luna a playful glare who had her Cheshire grin at his barb, "Not really. I was a little tired the day I got back, but that was mostly from the ritual, creating the memory pearls for Neville and myself, and then transferring the girls memories to the pearls. And I haven't had a dream since I came back now that I think about it."

He had trailed off at the last sentence, as it was a bit odd for him. Before he came back, he remembered the multitude of vivid dreams he'd had each night, and then spending part of the next morning figuring out what was the dream, what was memories, and that he was actually awake now. None of that had happened since he came back and he was curious as to why.

"And these pearls work how exactly?" the elderly witch inquire while giving Minnie a stink eye. Her friend hadn't mentioned them earlier when saying who had come back, though she did mention she herself had come back when Harry bound her.

That explained her friends natural appearance actually as she was aware that the concubine bond had a small aging effect depending on the binding wizards magic. If the witch was younger than the wizard, she would have a gradual though rapid aging over a year or two to bring her closer to the wizards physical age, not to mention so her body could handle birthing if needed. When the wizard was younger, as was Minnie's case, a witch would be reverted in age at first to her prime, and then stay there until the wizard was closer physically to her own age before aging normally again. Arguably, a concubine could be immortal because of the bond, especially if it never evolved and she was willed to a young descendant each time.

"Honestly, they should have worked like a pensive. It should have taken the memories inside of them and given them all to whoever was using them. It also helps protect the users mind from mental overload, though there is a small drawback of a mild headache from the integration. It's worse if you have any sort of mental shields up when you use them though," Harry said, giving another sheepish expressing to Pansy as she was the one giving him a playful glare this time.

She really didn't need the reminder of _that_ headache.

"How much magic do you use to make the pearls, and how much is transferred to the recipient?" Poppy asked with a frown.

"Uh... a lot to make the pearls, but only a small amount is transferred. It should be the same amount as when you return your memories from a pensive. The residual magic in the pearl is what is used to make sure they don't suffer from mental overload, as well as a few healing spells to make sure the brain doesn't swell, only the small portion that's used to keep the memories stable is transferred into the person using them, and another small portion is used to dissolve the pearls after they've been used."

The frown on the elderly witches face stayed there as her eyes lost some focus on reality. It was obvious to everyone that the healer was thinking and trying to suss out whatever it was she was concerned about with what Harry had told her. After a few minutes she focused back on Harry and asked, "Was there anything abnormal with what you did?"

It was Harry's turn to frown as he looked to his hand with the unknown ring. It had started to glow when each of the girls were returned using the pearls, which was something unexpected. Even while he stared at the ring, Ragnok's warning about the ring being powerful came back to him which made his brows burrow.

At the time he had thought the ring harmless as the magic didn't feel wrong at all... but now he wasn't so sure. Something was wrong with all of them that was cause enough for the matron to be agitated more than normal, along with the usual worry she had when treating a patient. But he didn't know what the ring could mean, only that it felt similar to the Resurrection Stone...

The wizard's mind came to a screeching halt as a thought occurred to him at the comparison between the two rings. The Resurrection Stone dealt with souls, bringing them back from beyond the veil of death, and this ring felt almost identical to the hallow. It wasn't a stretch to think the ring did something similar, especially as the down side to the hallow was that the soul that was brought back would be in pain until let go. Thinking back on it now, he wasn't even sure what Death or the Minerva had done to him when they had found him. This unknown ring was now obviously tied to whatever they had done... and if he had to guess was probably the reason for Poppy's worry.

He decided then that while his logical brain was warning him to keep the ring a secret, his instincts were telling him to reveal what the ring had done, or at least his theory.

"The girls and this ring started to glow when they each used the pearls," Harry said as he willed the ring into existence, "The glowing has never happened before, and I'm certain that somehow the mixture of the pearls and whatever this ring did didn't just give them back their memories, but brought back their souls as well."

Those that had been returned blinked in surprise before they gaped in shock as the implications hit them about what Harry's theory was. The matron on the other hand, while just as shocked as the others, was back to thinking rapidly at the theory.

"That explains it then," she said suddenly, the gawking fish looks of the others and Harry's confused look turning to her for further explanation. "If Mr. Potter's theory is correct, the souls of you girls' future selves were returned to your younger bodies. However, since you were bound to either Mr. Potter or Mr. Longbottom in the future, the lack of that bond being there is what is causing the imbalance."

The other's looks changed into a universal deadpanned confused one, and the healer found her eyebrow twitching again. They really needed to learn more about the healing arts...

"What I meant is that for each young woman, the two souls have likely merged together. The older portion of the merger however was bound to either wizard, while the younger was not, meaning that there was a portion of either wizards magic that was already attached to the older portion."

The looks of understanding then made the healer smile until Katie brought up a point.

"That explains why you mentioned Harry or Neville's magic was smothering ours, but it doesn't explain what you meant when our cores were unstable. We've all be able to cast just fine since we returned, stronger even as I guess the strength we had from our older portions also was merged with us," the chaser stated.

"Well to be blunt then, how many of you, outside of Minnie, have had intercourse with your associated wizard?"

The resulting blushes from everyone else greatly amused the older woman, and it also answered her question.

"That's a no then," she drawled, fighting every fiber of her being not to smirk, especially as she thought of their reaction to her next question, "Now, how many of you have masturbated since you've all returned?"

Poppy wasn't disappointed as the blushes got deeper on the group, though they did have a confused look on their faces. "Well?" she asked again after seeing that no one was answering.

When questioned directly, each person revealed that no one had done anything since they had returned. With the exception of Harry's binding of Minnie, the most sexual oriented contact any of them had had since coming back was kissing and hugging.

The matron sighed when the final person confirmed what she had already guessed.

"The fact that none of you have participated in either of those activities explains not only the unstable cores, but also why Mr. Potter's and Mr. Longbottom's magic is so prevalent in your systems."

At the groups universal confused expression again, she sighed before asking, "Do none of you remember what I told you in your second year when I was explaining to you what it meant to go through puberty for a magical?"

Silence happened for only a few seconds before several of the girl's mouths opened to answer, but Neville was oddly the one to beat them to the punch.

"You mentioned that there was something in relation to our magic and sexual release," the sandy haired wizard said, his blush still prominent on his face, "But you never really explained how. You said it was a means of stress relief and a way to calm down our emotions and magic, but not much else."

As everyone else was nodding after Neville's answer, the healer looked to Minnie for her answer as she had been there for each new year of Gryffindor girls that went through her talk.

The feline animagus had a bashful look at the inquiring gaze and said, "I always was grading papers while you talked with the girls and only vaguely remember my own talk when I was in school."

Feeling her eyebrow start to twitch again, this time more violently, the matron rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sighed in irritations. She made a mental note to make sure that her talks had a more lasting impression.

"What you seem to have forgotten, missed, or outright ignored," she started, giving Minnie another stink eye, "is that upon climax, you release a portion of magic. The amount is negligible, and regardless of what some may think, it doesn't help you build your core, nor is it constantly needed to keep you magic stable. It is suggested though that you do it at the very least semi-regularly so that your emotions, hormones, and magic are more relaxed so you can access your magic easier and have less risk if you do cast in an emotional state. You don't _have _to, like I said, but it strongly advised, especially as you are going through puberty where your emotions are rampant at the best of times. Are you with me so far?"

At the groups nod, the healer continued, "My theory then is that as your younger bodies have been going through puberty, they don't know how to deal with the merger and excess magic it brought about. You've basically put your bodies in the most amount of stress they have yet to have had, and done nothing to try and relax that stress. Include in that the rather large amount of magic that is foreign in your systems and you basically now have a stopped hose set on a small trickle, with the foreign magic being the stopper, your own cores growth being the trickle, and your bodies being the hose. Eventually, that trickle will have nowhere else to go and when it reaches that point, your core will likely rupture. While it won't be lethal, it will not only be excruciatingly painful, you will loose all of your abilities associated with magic and most likely end up in a brain dead state."

"And... how long would that take?" Su asked, her face looking paler than normal.

"From this current moment, several months, if not a year from now," she replied and the groups look took on one of horror for most. Harry's she noted had flickers of anger and the pressure in the room was building. She knew now that the pressure she had felt from before was because of him, and that it had something to do with his magic, but Minnie wasn't sure what caused it. Not wanting it to get worse though, she went on to quickly explain, "Thankfully though you now know of it and can take the steps to make sure that doesn't happen."

"How?" was the unanimous and echoing question.

"You have to recreate the bonds that your older selves had."

The blushes came back in full force as her statement was sussed out, and this time she didn't hold in her chuckle. It was amusing seeing what was basically adults reacting like the teenagers their bodies were. She was even more amused at seeing Minnie blush like a school girl as it was such a far cry from the strict professor that she was in front of everyone else.

"How does that work with Minnie and though?" Sophie soft voice asked. Everyone blinked at the simple question, but it was a very good point, one which Poppy was forced to try and work out again.

She wasn't able to think on it long however as Harry chuckled slightly at the question.

"You forget Sophie, we already have a bond that exists," Harry said as he wrapped an arm around the now very confused witch.

She looked at him trying to figure out what he meant before she suddenly felt a warmth rush through her. It was like a blanket was being wrapped around her firmly and softly at the same time, and with that warmth came the feelings of happiness, mischief, joy, and love all at once. The strange thing to her though was that, while she couldn't explain how, she knew they weren't hers. They felt like Harry, but the only time she had felt something similar was through the...

Her eyes widened comically as she almost yelled, "The Familiar Bond! But how, I thought it broke when the spell that trapped me broke."

"You seem to forget that Harry has a knack for breaking reality," Neville drawled, causing several of the girls to snicker at Harry's annoyed expression.

"That would explain why your core is in a similar enough state to the other girls Ms. Albarn, though now that it has been brought up, I'm not entirely sure how to fix it," Poppy interjected.

"The bond is already a two way street so to speak," Harry answered, stopping Sophie's expression from falling into sadness, though she looked to him in confusion again. He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her forehead briefly before saying,"The bond never broke by the way. We just never tried to feel it out until now."

The amber eyed girl smiled in realization at what it meant for her and she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso again. When she broke the hug, she had a million watt smile even through her blush, which caused the others to chuckle.

"That answers that then," Poppy said with her own small smile at the scene, "And it also answers your question about Minerva Ms. Albarn as she too has a bond that is already in existence."

More chuckles ensued from the group as Minnie had an 'o' expression on her face at the realization, though she blushed again as well at the memories of how _that_ bond came to be.

The teasing brought up a thought with Harry though that lowered his mood a bit. It was noticed immediately by Sophie who was feeling out the familiar bond and questioned him about it when his mood shifted.

Sighing and running his free hand through his hair, he took a few moments to figure out what he wanted to say.

"We have to adjust our plans more than just to fix the problem with our magic. There was a major snag that happened when I went to give Tonks her pearl earlier. Two unexpected people came back, and to make it more confusing, they came back before any of us did."

"While unexpected, how is that a bad thing? Well... minus the problem with their cores possibly being in the same state as ours," Neville asked.

Harry took a long look at Neville as he tried to gage how his friend would react, especially considering how he had reacted when he simply _seen_ Bellatrix.

"One of the people that came back was Andromeda Tonks. I'm not sure how she came back but it's likely a good thing for Dora and Narcissa as she can help be a bit of a cover for them while we are stuck here doing appearances," he started, and took a long pause to take take and let out a deep breath, "The other person is where things get complicated. Bellatrix LeStrange also came back."

The immediate response was exactly what he was expecting. Most of the girls had utter shock and horror on their faces, but the two he expected the most were from Neville and Hermione. Hermione's look darkened as he knew her mind went to the memories of her torture at the woman's hands, and when he grasped her hand to offer some comfort he had to bite back a wince as she had an almost crushing grip on his hand.

Neville's reaction was almost exactly like his with his eyes turning into their smoking amber color and the pressure of the room skyrocketing. It was enough to bring the rooms focus onto him and to cause Hannah and Su to calm him down as they were sitting on either side of him. It wasn't long before the pressure abated, but it would be several minutes before he was calm enough that the glow from his eyes vanished as well.

"Why the _fuck_ is she back?! **HOW** is she even back even?" the sandy haired wizard growled.

"The how is similar to how you came back, but with Death instead of Minerva," Harry said, missing the confused look that bloomed on Poppy's face. When the matron looked to her in curiosity and confusion, Minnie promised she'd explain it and everything else she knew but had left out to her later. "As for the why, I honestly have no idea. Her entire personality is different from the one we remember and knew about. Hell, if it wasn't for Andi, I likely would have killed her."

Internally he was a little surprised he didn't hear a gasp from anyone at his mentioning of killing someone, but tossed it up to what they had all been through in form or another.

"There's no logical reason for her to be here," Hermione all but hissed after a few seconds of silence.

"I can think of one, which is something she's already done, but it couldn't be the only reason why she was sent back," Harry said drawing incredulous and furious looks from Hermione and Neville respectively.

"She brought back Neville's parents."

_That_ took the wind out of their sails in a hurry, more so in Neville's case as he starred at Harry in disbelief.

"M-My parents...? But how...?" he babbled and stuttered, not sure how to respond.

"The spell used on your parents was apparently an obscure Black Family spell, even for the Blacks. When she went to see Andi immediately after coming back, she gave her and Ted the potion to heal your parents. They've been awake since before we came back and are at this very moment, recoving in St. Mungos."

Neville couldn't decide how he felt about hearing that as multiple emotions were warring in him for dominance. Eventually joy overrode the others, if just barely and he had a smile on his face as his eyes glazed over and his thoughts travelled to deal with the rest of his emotions.

"One good deed doesn't excuse that woman from everything she's done before," Hermione stated fiercely after getting over her shock at hearing Neville had his parents back.

"I agree Hermione, but there's something different about her that... I'm not really sure how to explain it," Harry said with a frown.

This only served to ignite Hermione's ire again as she leveled a glare on him, her thoughts likely coming up with ways to end the woman. "How could there be anything different about her?"

"Because she kept begging me to kill her, even against what Andromeda was saying," Harry said softly, though with confusion evident in his voice. He was still trying to figure out why Death had personally sent the woman back.

His statement though acted as another wind stealer for Hermione as she stared at him incredulously, her great mind coming to a full stop. Hers wasn't the only one though as everyone else had similar looks of disbelief.

"But... She was... Why would she do that?" Pansy asked eventually, trying to make sense of the Black woman's actions.

"I honestly have no idea. Like I said before, her entire personality is different from what we knew of her. Only time will tell at this point," he said with a shrug, not really sure of his own words.

A tense silence fell upon the group after that as they each dealt with what they'd been told. Ten minutes passed quickly though and the silence was rent by an anguished cry sounding in the wing.

It was enough to startle everyone from their thoughts and look around the room in panic, though Poppy knew what it was instantly. She was up and behind the curtained bed before anyone else realized there weren't any other occupants in the room.

There was soft mumbling from behind the curtains, as well as several more cries, before both stopped about a minute later. It was another couple of minutes before Poppy stepped back out from the curtains shaking her head with an angry scowl on her face.

"Mr. Potter... Harry, you said Mr. Malfoy was assaulting Ms. Krueger when you came upon them?" she asked out of the blue when she got back to her chair though didn't sit.

Harry blinked a couple times as he realized that it was Clarice behind the screen, before scowling at the memory of her being struck by Draco.

"Yeah, though like I said earlier, I'm not sure what happened before I got there. Is Clarice alright?"

"Physically, yes. She has several bruises on her body, likely from being grabbed roughly. Her emotional state on the other hand is a bit shaky at the moment. It was a good thing you arrived when you did."

The left out action of what Draco was likely about to commit had the others growling, none more so than Pansy and Astoria.

"I should have curb stomped him when I had the chance," Harry muttered darkly, though everyone could hear him.

"You're lucky he didn't remember who 'attacked' him," Poppy said, giving him a harsh look when he looked at her in confusion. "Professor Snape was the one to find him. When he brought him here, Mr. Malfoy could only remember his head hitting the wall. He didn't remember anything from several hours before that, until Professor Snape found him."

"Serves the bastard right," Pansy growled out, her thoughts going to places better left unsaid.

"Why isn't he here then, now that I think about? I mean in the wing itself if he has short term memory problems from having his skull bashed in?" Lavender asked.

"Because he didn't have a concussion, or a fractured skull. Aside from the memory loss, he only had a broken nose and substantial bump on his head. The former is treated with a simple spell, and the latter was treated with an almost out of date anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately for Mr. Malfoy, the only Pain Relief potion I have left doesn't mesh well with the anti-inflammatory, so he will have to deal with the pain naturally."

Harry winced slightly at the knowledge of the spell the healer was talking about as it had been used on him for a broken nose as well. It wasn't the worst pain he had, but the dull ache lasted for a very long time afterwards and you never forgot the feeling of the very bones so close to your brain rearranging themselves.

The rest of what the older witch had said though had the wince give way to a dark grin. Poppy's oaths as a healer kept her from not treating the ferret, but how she had was a small compensation. The pain that would likely stay with the blond for several days would keep him out of every one's hair and the almost out of date potion not only would taste horribly, it would more than likely barely reduce the swelling in his head, meaning the pain would be extended even farther.

The green eyed wizard a couple times as another thought occurred to him.

"What did Snape say when he brought the ferret in?" he asked.

"Nothing actually. Just that he had found Mr. Malfoy in the state he was delivered in. He seemed distracted with something and left promptly after dropping of his injured student."

That made Harry and the other frown in thought. Ever since the incident with Umbridge and Snape hadn't bothered anyone, at least in their group. He didn't even antagonize Harry or Neville during class.

"_That doesn't bode well. A quiet Snape is never a good thing,_" Harry thought, making a note to be more wary around the greasy haired man from now on.

Turning to Poppy he asked if Clarice was awake which the matron replied in the negative. She had given the girl another Dreamless Sleep potion, a little shocked that it didn't last as long as it was supposed to. The only other person that had happened with was Harry earlier in the year when the nightmares of the year had started.

That comparison gave the matron a hunch however as she looked back at the curtained off bed for several seconds before disappearing behind them once more.

"Why do you think the greasy bat's distracted? It's not really like him to be like that out in public," Neville commented after some time had passed.

"Could be any number of things. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing that whatever has him distracted though, it isn't focused on me for once. Otherwise he would have said something by now, or made some backhanded comment to Poppy when he dropped the ferret off. I was already here after all," Harry said with a shrug.

"Still, this isn't like what we know of him. It can't be good," Daphne said, echoing Harry's earlier thought.

"Another wait and see issue then, at least for now. He's still getting dealt with over the summer though," Luna said in her spacey tone. The others had no arguments there as for most of those who had been forced under potions, the potions origins lay with Snape at Dumbledore's request.

"Speaking of summer plans, what are we going to do about our bonds?" Parvati asked bringing the group up short. They knew they had to renew them before the Ministry debacle, but it was a bit of a logistics issue for all of them. Space was needed for each group, and there was limited space of the size that was needed, not to mention a place that had no foot traffic.

"_Might I make a suggestion?" _Andromeda's voice resonated within their skulls, startling all of them. Thankfully her voice was soft and quiet compared to Luna's earlier wake up call and Katie's shouted message.

"_Andi? Have you been listening in this entire time?"_ Harry asked once his heart wasn't going to jump through his throat. He was a little confused however as he didn't know the pearls he had given out could be used to listen in on a conversation. It was an interesting feature though as it made the pearls a bit more versatile.

"_That I have, as have the others,"_ Andi stated. Harry could read between the lines for the simple sentence though as she didn't want to say Bellatrix was listening in as well. Not like he blamed her though with how he reacted earlier.

"_Gotcha, so, what's this suggestion?"_ he asked, moving away from who was listening in as succinctly as possible.

"_You can do your bonding ceremonies here Harry. That would make it easier on both Cissy and Dora as you won't have to worry about what would happen if they were caught at Hogwarts."_

"_That... is a very good suggestion Andi, thank you very much. I was thinking of my family's manor, but I've never been there," _Harry said with some relief in his voice. He had had to force down his younger body's natural reaction to say 'he didn't want to impose.'

Looking to the others, they were all in their own thoughts on the matter briefly before nodding in agreement. Neville also mentioned he and his ladies would either stay at Hogwarts or go to a place on Longbottom Manor. It was there that Sophie had asked what they were all talking about that Harry remembered she didn't have a pearl. The amber eyed girl was a bit surprised at the idea of the pearls but gladly took one and the brief description in how to use them.

"_You're welcome Harry. Just let me know ahead of time when you decide on a day so I can make sure the house is clear for you."_

"_We should be there this upcoming Saturday then," _Padma's voice came over the pearls, prompting everyone to look at her curiously. "_If we do it then, it will give us all enough time to get used to whatever changes could, and probably will occur, without magic."_

"_Saturday it is then," _Andi said, her voice greatly amused for some reason. Harry figured it had something to do with Narcissa and Tonks since they hadn't spoken up at all.

As if on cue to them figuring out a plan, Poppy stepped back out from the curtains with her brows furrowed again. The sound of the curtains being pulled back had caught the other's attention and they saw the woman standing just outside them while looking at where she had been as if it held the answers of the universe.

"Is something wrong Poppy?" Minnie asked her friend concernedly.

The question startled the other older witch briefly before she turned to regard Minerva. She shook her head slightly in response.

"No, nothing is wrong per say, just more confusion to a very strange day," the matron stated as she turned to regard Harry. "Did your future self know you had a younger sister Harry?"

Everyone was caught off guard at the question as they blinked owlishly at the healer. They were mildly shocked to have confirmation that Clarice was Harry's sister, but considering everything else that had been happening around them the past two days, it didn't hold the same thought stopping power as it should have.

"Uh... no. I only recently had a hunch that she might be my sister," Harry said, unsure how else to respond.

"Oh?"

"I only just met her yesterday. She showed me that she wears contacts to hide her natural eye color, which is almost exactly like mine, and that she's an orphan as well. Add in that her last name is 'Krueger' which is a German family name for Potter and well, it's not that hard to assume. I had no way of finding out if that assumption was true though without making myself come off as creepy," Harry stated somewhat sheepishly.

"Well you can have your confirmation now then," Poppy stated as she looked back to the curtains. "Would you like me to tell her when she wakes up?"

"I guess," Harry responded, his tone a little vacant from knowing that Clarice was truly his sister, "I'd like to be here when you tell her though."

"Fair enough. Now I suggest the lot of you get back to your dorms, it's getting late. You Ms. Albarn, are staying here however, and no changing into your bird form and flying off."

After a quick tempus spell to double check the time, the group agreed and started to file out of the hospital wing. Sophie was pouting the entire time at being forced to stay in the wing, though she understood why she had to stay there. Her body was still responding oddly from her lack of using a human oriented muscle structure, not to mention she wasn't enrolled, so she was likely to raise a few alarms by her sudden appearance.

Harry waited as the other left, just staring at the closed curtains. It was surreal to know he had a sister and had never known her the first time around, yet this time here she was. He frowned a little at the thought of him seemingly discovering her so soon after returning, and looked to his unknown ring. It was hard enough living a reality he had thought was out of his grasp, but there were so many random changes that had happened since he came back that he was starting to worry what else had or would change.

If there were any more changes, would they be good? Would they help towards the goals his family had talked about so long ago? Or would some change bring everything crashing down around his ears and make things worse? That thought terrified him the most as he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle things like he had in the first time line.

A hand on his arm brought him out of his thoughts to see Hermione's concerned face, with Katie right next to her. They were the last three there, minus Sophie, though the silver haired girl had been directed to another curtained off bed to sleep.

He forced a small smile on his face to reassure them that he was alright for the time be before they too left the wing. The two girls knew what he was trying to do and for once didn't pressure him. Instead they offered him silent comfort as they each took one of his arms while they walked their way back towards the Gryffindor common room.

Thankfully they had left before curfew, and while they had passed only a few students, they had been too engrossed in getting back to their dorms from wherever it was they had been and paid them no mind. That just meant however that there were likely still people in the common room when they got there. Katie let go of Harry's arm before they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, giving him a chaste kiss before moving ahead.

It wasn't surprising that when they entered, there were still people in the common room that weren't part of their group. Parvati and Lavender had already gone up to their dorm room while Neville had taken a seat a table with Dean and Seamus. The boys were talking about something, though from the confused and slightly hidden disgusted expression on Neville's face, Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to know what the two were saying. There were also a spattering of the other years about the room, doing work or mingling as was the norm at this time before people finally wound down enough to go to sleep.

Without really thinking, Harry let his feet carry him over to one of the more comfortable armchairs, Hermione following him as she had never let go of his arm. He promptly slumped into the chair, dragging a shocked Hermione into his lap, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into the nape of her neck.

Judging by the small increase in heat her body suddenly put out, it was likely she was blushing a bit, but he didn't really care at the moment. After everything that had happened today, he just wanted to unwind.

He didn't even look up when he felt one arm wrap around his shoulders and one of her hands became tangled in his hair. "_It's probably the same for Hermione,"_ he thought as he felt some of the tension leave his frame. His suspicion was confirmed a moment later when he felt her kiss his head before rubbing her cheek into his hair as she started to run the hand that was already there through his hair as well.

If either of them had been paying attention, they would have noticed the common room had suddenly gone silent at their actions. Well... as silent as it could with the influx of quieted giggling and whispers that sounded like a dull angry hornet's nest.

Off to the side, Neville just rolled his eyes at the scene the two had unknowingly made. He had been expecting either of them to do something like this sooner or later, whether intentionally or not. It was nice seeing them relax though, especially after the conversations from the past two days.

Thinking back on those made him frown a bit, though he kept it from deepening into a scowl lest the rumor mill get some strange idea on what his thoughts were. Knowing that his parents were back was a very large weight off his shoulders... but knowing that the reason they had been in that state to begin with was back, and also the reason he _had_ his parents back... It left a very strange bitter taste in his mouth. Knowing that his emotions were still running amuck at the moment, he wanted with every fiber of his being to find Bellatrix and turn her into a bloody smear.

Yet what Harry had said about her personality having a complete turn around, he didn't know what to do with that. He would have to wait until he and his ladies were bound together again, before he confronted the issue, and it would likely take meeting the woman face to face to find some sort of resolution. At the moment that was turning her into red sauce and jelly, or letting her live. Any possible details around the latter were fuzzy, though he guessed he shouldn't be that surprised. All he had to do was look at the past history of Pansy and Narcissa to know that not everything could be taken at face value.

His thoughts were ripped away suddenly though by a loud and angry, "What the bloody hell is this?!"

Everyone in the common room, minus Harry and Hermione, turned towards the owner of the shout to see a disgruntled and angry looking Ronald Weasley. The ginger's face was already dashed red with anger, and his ears were ablaze as was the norm for all Weasley Tempers.

"Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me? Or don't I get to know? No, I know, I'm just a third wheel aren't I? Too low to be told anything by the almighty Harry Potter; why should I know anything?" the redhead growled out.

"Why hello Ronald, how are _you_ this evening?" Harry's muffled reply came from Hermione's neck, the two still not looking towards him.

"Answer the bloody question _Potter_!" Ron snarled with an almost Malfoy level of vitriol in his voice.

"About what exactly?" Harry asked as he finally lifted his head from Hermione neck to look his friend in the eye. Most of the common room had to stifle gasps upon seeing his face again, especially the look in his eyes. He had a hard, almost murderous look that seemed to be screaming his intent to main the tall ginger.

"About you and Herms being together!" Ron shouted, either not understanding the look Harry was giving him, or too angry to notice. He did notice the dark and pain promising look Hermione suddenly gave him at the use of _that_ hated name. Her look he chose to ignore entirely for once, instead focusing his ire onto the raven haired wizard.

"And how is my love life any business of yours?" Harry asked calmly, the brief reprieve of tension Hermione had given him vanished as if it had never happened. He was barely controlling his urge to break the idiot in front of him, though he was hopping the ginger would fall for his bait and let something slip that he could hang around his neck later.

"Because I'm your best friend! At least I thought so. This explains why I couldn't find you this weekend at least. What were you doing? Shagging her like a rabbit in whatever broom closet you could find?"

Off to the side Katie winced as she felt a charge surge through the room. Leanne had been in the common room when she had arrived, and while they had talked at dinner, she had been distracted by thinking about what was going on with what she now knew as Sophie. Not that her mind was any more settled _now_ after the conversation in the hospital wing, and this current situation wasn't helping matters any.

Especially with the ginger adding fuel to the fire, though she was mildly surprised he hadn't said anything incriminating so far.

"You really are a piece of work aren't you Ronald?" Harry asked, his voice surprisingly calm to everyone but Hermione, Katie, and Neville. "You call yourself my best friend and yet you insult me in the same breath? I shouldn't be that surprised though, this is just like last year isn't it?"

Everything above Ron's neck was now a vibrant red, so much so that his hair was actually starting to turn a shade of blond. The lanky teen was also sputtering at Harry's own comment, lost in how to respond.

"I think this is a bit different from last year Harry," Hermione interjected, ignoring how the common room focused on her. "I was trying to recuse myself last year if you recall. Obviously this time I have chosen a clear side to be with. The benefits are quite a bonus I might add."

The sudden snog she gave Harry at that declaration had the room in a small whistling and cat calling frenzy. As much of a show as it was though, and while Harry and Hermione truly enjoyed the kiss, the other's that had returned could still feel the charge in the room. If anything, it had gotten stronger. It was actually starting to affect some of the younger students who were a bit more sensitive to the subtle shifts in magic, even if they didn't realize it.

When the two came up for air a minute or so later, they were breathing heavily and staring into each other's eyes as they rested their foreheads together.

"Well aren't _you_ just a bloody tramp _Herms!_" Ron's voice hissed.

_Now_, everyone could feel the charge in the room as it felt like some electrical charge had dispersed in the room. Most everyone was looking around in confusion at the suddenly uncomfortable feeling that was almost smothering, wondering where it was coming from.

For those that knew of Harry's power, they could see a slight shimmer in and around his eyes as he barely held back tapping into his power. It was bad enough that there was a haze wavering around those now darkened emerald orbs, making them look as if they were emitting some great heat. Not to mention that if you listened closely, you could hear a distinct static charge running through peoples hair, which was only a smidgen away from the crackling of energy discharged.

"Well if there was any doubt I had before about your foolishness, you surely have removed it with opening your yap," Harry drawled, his voice somehow sounding hollow and angry. It sent chills down everyone's spine and for once, Ron realized he had truly said something stupid.

"You should know by now I've never really cared about being insulted, put down, or being talked about behind my back. Second year should have proven that in a rather grand scale, ignoring for a moment what's been going on this year," he continued as he stood up, Hermione having already risen once she felt him start to stand up. "But to insult those I care about, well I thought I made it clear how I react when Malfoy insult my mother."

He was slowly walking towards the taller teen then, cracking his knuckles with a dark grin on his face, while he stared into Ron's now worried and slightly terrified eyes.

"I would normally write off you blunders as social ignorance, it's clearly something more than that though. Could it be an inferiority complex in realizing you're the only one in your family to not be in a relationship? Or maybe another fit of jealousy that your '_friend_' has a girlfriend before you? I wonder if it could be that you're angry because you even fancy Hermione, but then you've never really shown it have you? You've fought with her more times than I can count, though to be honest she has flat out told you what to do more times than you've fought. Oh I know, maybe you like her since you suffer from an Oedipus Complex? That would explain a lot actually, since you can blame your lack of intelligence on her not breast feeding you enough when you were younger. It'd explain the anger as well since it's pretty obvious you got jealous of Ginny taking all of Molly's attention away from you. Does it bother ickle Ronniekins, that your mom didn't even spare her other breast for you when Ginny was born?"

The resounding crack as an almost rabid Ron slugged Harry made the now much fuller room gasp in shock. All the noise from the argument had brought those who had already headed up to go to bed back down to the common room to see what the hell was going on. Needless to say, the only ones who weren't shocked by Ron's attack on Harry were Hermione, Neville, Katie, and the returned Parvati and Lavander.

No one was paying attention to the now equally red Ginny standing amongst her dorm mates.

Alicia and Angelina, whom had moved to Katie to find out why Harry was arguing with Ron, moved to go after Ron as the redhead drew back his fist for another blow to the slightly staggered Harry. They were stopped by Katie grabbing their arms, and when they looked to their teammate, she simply said, "Just watch. Harry can take care of himself."

Harry's arm snapped up into a block not a second later after that statement as Ron's fist came down. The ginger could only blink in confusion at the block. He had expected Harry to be more dazed, after all Draco had whenever he had been punched before.

"Thanks for striking first," Harry's voice drawled out as his eyes came back to bore into Ron's. He swore he was hallucinating then as he could swear he saw the Potter's eyes flash that horrible sickly green of the killing curse as the pressure in the room became unbearable but for a moment.

All his thoughts stopped not long after though as Harry's hand shifted to grab his wrist before initiating his own attack. The uppercut to his solar plexus had his eyes bulging and stole the wind from his lungs as he doubled over slightly. He would have fallen back if it hadn't been for Harry's grip on his wrist, but that grip _did_ vanish in the follow up right hook that him reeling backwards into the wall next to the fireplace.

In a great deal of fear, he used his left hand and went for his wand as Harry stalked towards him. As he started to bring it to bear on the approaching raven haired teen he had to blink in shock again as Harry moved faster than his mind could follow.

Harry had stepped to just barely outside of his reach and grabbed his other wrist tightly, twisting it so the wand was pointing away from him. But the beating didn't end there as he brought his left arm up in a violent strike to his elbow. The ginger's cry of agony as his elbow shattered in a way it wasn't meant to go had the entire room's eyebrow go wide in surprise, even those that had been returned.

But to add humiliation to the strike was that it forced Ron let go of his wand, letting it fall to the floor. Right before it hit however, Harry stepped inside Ron's reach then, leading with his right foot which just so happened to hit the falling wand. It bounced off his shoe and into the dull fire where it promptly ignited.

The knowledge that he had lost yet another wand due to bad choices would come later for Ron though as Harry was still on the offensive. Letting go of Ron's wrist, Harry used his now free right hand to deliver another uppercut to his gut, making the already in pain and out of breath teen wheeze in agony. He then pulled his fist back and as the taller teen doubled over again, he swiped his elbow in a short but powerful strike to the redhead's nose, breaking it instantly.

Ron's head snapped back at the strike, smacking into the wall violently, before he fell/slid down the wall spread eagled and in a daze.

Not to pass up what amounted to a free shot, Harry drew kicked out one of the gingers legs with one foot and drew back the other. The shrill and garbled scream of agony as the angry raven haired wizard delivered the toe of his shoe to the Weasley's unprotected genitals had every male in the room, including Neville, cringe in agony. The girls in the room followed shortly thereafter as Ron listed to the side and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach.

Unknown to everyone else but Harry, though, the physical damage wasn't the only thing he had been doing to the ginger. Each individual strike had with their own unique curse.

The first strike to the redheads stomach was based on an idea he had had ruminating in his head for a very long time. For nearly twenty hours a day, anytime the lanky git would eat or drink anything, it would turn to ash in his stomach. It would never revert to it's natural form and all the bodily complications that came with ingesting ash would last for weeks on end. The second uppercut had been an modified curse and healing spell that would make sure that none of Ron's organs would fail due to the ash in his system. It would also make sure that his organs didn't deteriorate from not having the proper nutrients and sustenance in his system.

Breaking the ginger's elbow had almost been satisfying enough of an attack on it's own, but like the other two it was laced with subtle magic. From that day forward, Ron would have very small tremors running throughout his body on top of having somewhat frail bones. He'd still be able to do magic, but it certainly would be a hell of a task to focus and steady any wand movement if he didn't learn how to cast without the motions or words.

Which with the curse that Harry had incorporated into the elbow to his face would be pretty much impossible for the redhead to do. That strike had made it so that any time he tried to focus on his magic, he would get a nasty headache and the more Ron tried to focus, the worse the pain got.

But the coupe de grace of his assault was with the strike to the Weasley's genitals. Not only had he put in enough force from the strike alone to rupture his testicles, the curses added to it made it that much more vindictive. First was the one that stopped any magical form of healing fixing the ruptured sack. The second was an impotence curse that would ensure that the ginger would never become arouse ever again. Tied in with with the second curse was one that would trigger every time the body tried to become aroused, and that was to very slowly cause necrosis of the flesh where his bits were attached. It wouldn't spread past that point, but eventually the redheads bits would rot away and fall off. And the final curse was that any time the redhead had to use the restroom, it would feel to him as if his bits were on fire.

Let it be known, however, that Ron had some level of tenacity by association with Harry. Even after the punishment he had just received and with his body in extreme amounts of agony, he was able to sit up again. His breathing was ragged and shallow but it was clear enough to Harry that the redhead leveled him with a glare that would kill him if it could have. He even tried to raise his right hand from the floor to do lord knows what.

The hand never made it past an inch off the ground though as Harry stomped on it as hard as he could, the sound of crunching bones resonating throughout the shocked and silent room. That strike had no curse attached to it however.

Squatting next to Ron, his foot still on the ginger's hand grinding the bones into further dust, as he glared balefully into the wide scared and bloodshot blue eyes of the youngest male Weasley. What no one saw from Harry though was that his eyes were now smoking. Not that the redhead would remember what they looked like.

"Consider this the termination of any semblance of friendship between us Ronald Billius Weasley," Harry said in that deathly chilling hollow tone that came with using his power. He finished his declarations with a devastating left hook to the lanky teens jaw that, based on the sound fractured, if not shattered, his jaw and knocked him out at the same time and he fell with his head close to the fireplace.

The proximity was just close enough that the horrible stench of burning hair filled the room, offending everyone before Harry stood and dragged the unconscious redhead away from the fire roughly.

"Mr. Potter!" the somewhat horrified voice of Minnie sounded through the room just then, drawing everyone to the rooms entrance.

Apparently one of the seventh years had gone to get their head of house while everyone else was engrossed in the fight, if you could call it that. Not that it bothered him any, as it helped out a bit with explaining what happened. The horrified expression on the elderly witch's face made him wince a bit however, as did the similar looks on all those that had returned though the feeling was mollified by the looks of understanding that went with it.

"What is going on here?" Minnie demanded as she moved to stand in front of Harry. She made it look like she was staring him down, demanding he answer her inquiry. With her back to the rest of the students though, no one could see the worry that washed over her eyes as she took in his furious appearance.

Through the pearls she asked, "_Are you alright Harry?"_

Externally Harry just shrugged his shoulders to relieve some of the tension while he replied, "_I'm decent enough. It's a good thing other people where here though. It'll let the rumor mill know him and I are through at least."_

Externally he said, "Ron was angry about Hermione and I becoming an item. He struck me first and I defended myself."

Minnie just sighed at the vague verbal response but understood why it was so short. Though when she looked around at the gathered and silent students, her Professor look back in place, she noticed that for once the entirety of the house was behind Harry as they nodded in affirmation to his statement. Even the student that came to get her was nodding, which likely meant they were getting her in hopes that she could keep Harry from killing Ron.

Turning back to Harry to look him over once more, she noticed this time that the skin on his left hand had split and was bleeding and that he had the makings of a bruise forming on his cheek.

"So it would seem," she said after a long pause before drawing her wand. With a flick of her wrist, the mess on the ground was vanished, and with another flick Ron was levitated into the air.

"I'll be taking Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing to tend to his injuries. We will talk more about this situation later Mr. Potter," Minnie said firmly and with her lips in a thin line to keep up her appearance. "As it's getting late, I suggest all of you go to your dorms immediately as classes begin again tomorrow."

The tone of her suggest made it seem more like an order, especially to those who didn't know her personally. Thankfully the dread of classes was enough of an inspiration for most everyone to go to bed, though they were chatting about what had happened the entire way.

The ones who stayed in the common room however were those that had returned, but they were accompanied by the worried Angelina and Alicia, and the slightly confused and wary Leanne. Harry did notice that the still red Ginny looked torn between going after her brother, staying, and going back to her room with her friends. She met his eyes briefly and flinched at seeing his still angry look and decided to just go to her room.

When it was just them finally, Harry moved back to the chair Hermione had been standing by during his scuffle, and flopped down into it yet again. The bushy haired witch also retook her spot in his lap once more as they took up an identical position to how they were before Ron had shown up.

"_I buggered this up big time, haven't I?"_ Harry's quiet and soft voice sounded throughout the pearls. It was soft enough that it didn't startle any of the people that weren't in the Gryffindor common room for the events, though his tone made most of them worry.

"_What happened?"_ Tracey's slightly groggy voice asked. She was likely on the cusp of falling asleep before he had spoken, though her tone was clear with worry.

"_Harry just broke Ron," _Lavender said with a bit of a giggle in her voice. It was gratifying on a primal level to see the fool be taken down like she had, even if she knew it was brutal. After all, he deserved it for everything he had done, and would likely try to do again.

That was actually an argument Parvati had had with all their thoughts of dealing out retribution to those that had yet to commit the crimes they had in the first time line. It was point of contention among them for a little while before Astoria had brought up a very good point. Could they live with themselves if they knew that those people would commit those crimes in the future, and did nothing to stop them?

It was a morally gray area but eventually, they had unanimously agreed after some more debating that it was a better idea to prevent the possibility of those atrocities. They'd just have to deal with the unknown consequences latter, if any.

The response from Lavender provoked an echoing 'What?' to occur through the pearls which lead to a brief description of what had happened from those who had viewed the scene. Harry interjected at the end though to tell the others what he had done with the curses.

Neville wasn't sure how he managed, but he internalized his nausea at the retold story of what had happened to Ron's genitals, not to mention the curses involved. True he deserved them, but he didn't want to think about the explicit details to go with it. Seeing any bloke take a blow there was bad enough as it was.

To those who didn't have the pearls though, the several minutes of silence was finally getting to them, especially Alicia and Angelina.

"All right there Harry?" Angelina asked finally, breaking the internal conversation up, at least Harry's part in it. The other's were still talking about the details, especially to Minnie once she joined in after depositing Ron with Poppy. The last thing he heard before he tuned the internal conversation out was that Minnie was going to spend a good deal of the night filling Poppy in on the details they had left out earlier.

"Sorta," Harry mumbled in response from Hermione's neck again. Her hand running through his hair again was doing it's work on relaxing him, but the inferno in his chest was still there.

Kissing her neck softly, he removed his face from it's position to look at questioningly at his teammate.

"That's twice now you've lost it with someone this year Harry," Alicia stated with some trepidation, "I don't think any of us have ever seen you act like you just did though. Something else had to have happened to make you do that."

Thankfully with those that had stayed looking at him, they only saw him flinch at Alicia's words.

"I learned a bit about some of the Weasleys, and I guess I took it to a bit of an extreme," he stated, not really sure how to word his response. He was honest with them earlier when he had told them they were like older sisters to him, and he felt a pang in his chest for being dishonest with them.

Seeing the two older girls give each other troubled looks though brought back some memories he hadn't thought about. Fred and George had become aware of something wrong in their family not long after the events of the Triwizard Tournament, but hadn't been sure of what it was at the time, though during Harry's sixth year they had learned enough that it somehow involved Harry. They hadn't found the time to talk with him, and after the horror of what was to be his seventh year George slipped into a bit of a depression and didn't think about it again.

It wasn't until after the Witch Hunt that they had sussed out what it was, and Angelina and Alicia had confessed that the twins had told them their worries but they hadn't found the time, nor the courage, to approach him as he was dealing with one event or another the entire year. By the time they had worked up the nerve to talk to him, it was after the events at the ministry and he had closed himself off from all but those who had gone with him, missing their final chance to talk with him.

Now it would seem that this was a chance to fix that mistake from the first time line.

"Girls... What do you know?" Harry asked forcing his tone to sound a bit pleading, hoping it was convincing enough.

"Nothing substantial," Angelina said with a bit of a sheepish look, "The twins asked us to tell you they think there's something up with their family, to be more specific their mother. They apparently caught her mumbling about making sure you were part of their family and didn't think much of it until they remembered the start of their their third year. It was when Molly was escorting Ron to the train and brought Ginny with them and for some reason decided to take a trip through the muggle side of the station. Her apparently 'forgetting' the station number confused them then and they didn't really think much about it. Hell they even joked about it that year if memory serves. But something brought up that memory and made them start to think about everything their family has done in association with you since that's when you first met the Weasley's. So far the only one's they've been able to suss out as being suspicious is Molly, with concerns about Ron and Ginny."

Harry was blinking in surprise at the amount that she had told him this time around. She had still been nervous as hell in the first time line, though that may have been attributed to she knew what he could really do when he was angry. It wasn't nervous for her safety, but more so in him just being angry with her.

"That's... a bit more than I was expecting, but helpful. Thank you Angi," he said with a soft smile to the technically older witch.

"You're welcome Harry," Angelina said as she leaned back with a pleased yet relieved smile on her face.

"Um... not that I know much about the Weasley's past Fred and George, but what could their mum do that made you have the kind of reaction like you did earlier?" Leanne asked a bit unsure since she hadn't really spoken to the younger years outside of casual greetings.

She blushed a little as the group focused on her, blinking a bit as they did so at her sudden inclusion, those that had been talking in the pearls having stopped to listen in on the conversation now that they knew they could thanks to Andromeda.

"Molly Weasley is known for having used a love potion on her husband to get her to notice him," Harry said just above a drawl. He wasn't sure how much she knew about the laws of the wizarding world regarding family lines, and he didn't want to insult her if she was more aware than what he assumed.

The girl flinched at the mention of love potions, obviously knowing of several bad scenarios where they could be used, before replying, "While I don't condone the use of those... _things,_ there are some that are legal aren't they? How could those elicit the... fight... you just had."

"At the absolute worst, the entire Weasley family can be charged with Line Theft," Neville responded to her inquiry, getting a confused look in response.

In response he willed his family ring to be visible and showed it to her, making Angelina's, Alicia's, and Leanne's eyes go wide in shock. It cleared up that the three girls knew enough about what the ring meant as almost a second later, all three head's snapped to stare at Harry's hand around Hermione's waist.

He chuckled sheepishly as he willed the rings on his left into existence. It was a bit of a risk showing not only the Potter ring, but also the Black ring to the three girls but he knew at least in part he could trust Angelina and Alicia.

The risk lay with Leanna, though judging by her sharp intake of breath at their reveal, she knew the importance of secrecy around Heads of House.

"Y-You're Lord Potter _and_ Lord Black?! But.. how, aren't you too young to take up the mantle?" her question all but confirmed she was fairly knowledgeable about the wizarding world's politics.

"For the title and position, you only have to be fifteen. You can't take up the seat in the court until you're twenty five, if memory serves," Harry stated, looking to Neville for confirmation since his friend was much more versed in the laws surrounding the Wizengamot. The sandy haired teen nodded to confirm that line of thought.

Turning back to Leanna, he said, "In that case, the only options are the complete destruction of the Weasley family through a Blood Feud, the entirety of the family is stripped of any and all assets from every family member and they are sentenced to life in Azkaban, or if it can be proven that the Head of House from the charged family was unaware of their family member's actions, they can disown them and still have to pay reparations for what was done. While the latter doesn't seem so bad, the family name becomes blacklisted for having let someone like that into their family and are deemed 'untrustworthy' from that point on. Granted, to get to that level would require a very powerful, not to mention difficult to brew and highly illegal potion."

The three girls looked green at the implications of what could result from dousing someone with a potion. It was bad enough that someone would want to force someone to feel love for them, but to take a chance that you could cause such devastation to your family for your own selfish desires? Surely the twin's mother couldn't do something _that_ horrible?

Seeing the rapidly changing expressions on the girls faces, and figuring that they were likely thinking of what horror's would ensue if Molly Weasley was indeed planning that very thing, Harry decided to throw them a bit of a bone. It's not like they needed to know that that was _exactly_ what the bint was planning, and then some.

"Like I said, that's the worse case scenario," Harry said in a soothing voice. "If I had found out anything like that... well my response would be a lot different in regards to the walking garbage disposal. And I'd likely have to do something that would break my sister's hearts."

The blushing glares Angelina and Alicia sent Harry's way had Leanne laughing softly, and abated some of the seriousness of the topic. She knew from Katie about the two girls relationship with the twins on top of having seen it evolve over the years since she became friends with Katie. She was a bit surprised though when Katie was laughing as well though, and had assumed that Harry had been including her in the sister's comment. Apparently she had been mistaken and she filled it away to bug her friend about later.

"Well then what did you find out then since you apparently know something we don't," Angelina growled slightly, though there was no heat in it. It didn't help that it was obvious she was fighting back a grin.

"Outside of him making offhand comments about doing exactly what we just talked about with Hermione," he started, eliciting another gasp from the girls as they stared at the brilliant witch with worry, "I learned he's been more or less helping the flames that bloody newspaper has been making. Well... not the spouting about me being a deranged lunatic, but about being impossible to approach. I had to learn he's been more or less scarring off people that just want to talk to me enough to get a clarifying view on either something that's happened since I started here or on whatever new thing the Prophet is spouting. It's not really in his favor that I had to learn about this from a classmate in a different house by happenstance."

"And that was reason enough to cave his face in?" Alicia asked with some concern.

He had to give the older girl a deadpanned expression at the question. She'd seen Oliver take a bludger to the skull, which had more of a 'caving in' effect on a person than the few hits he'd given Ron. The elder chaser seemed to realize her poor choice of words shortly after his look at her and chuckled slightly as she blushed and rephrased her question to, "I mean is that reason enough for you to assault him like you did?"

"I may not be a fan of the spotlight, but I'd like people to judge me after having met and talked with me instead of judging me based on what someone else is saying. Included is that he's been doing this since my first year, long before I knew anything about the wizarding world and was desperate for friends. He basically isolated me from everyone that wasn't his family without me really noticing what he was up to until I had someone pretty much cram it down my throat. It's pure luck I got to know the team as well as I did, and need I remind you he's the reason Hermione almost got killed in our first year due to his actions?"

The girls had to blink in surprise again at how it sounded when he put it like that with what they knew. It didn't take long to realize he was right with how the redhead had been acting from the very moment Harry had been sorted into Gryffindor, followed by righteous fury at the reminder that he had been the cause of a lot of anguish for Hermione who became a close friend to the chasers to learn more about how women handled quidditch. Learning more about how Harry acted when around other people was just a bonus.

"When it's put that way... Yeah, I'd have the same reaction," Leanne said after a bout of silence.

The comment caused the others to chuckle in response the it was interrupted by a loud yawn from Parvati, who blushed furiously when knowing grins turned to look at her. Even with her blush she turned a triumphant grin on the other's at the chain reaction her yawn had started and it devolved into a yawning and laughing fit amongst them.

It took a while, but when they could all finally manage to stop laughing, and no one was currently yawning, Neville was the one to take the initiative and stood up while stretching.

With a groan as a couple of bones in his back popped, he said as he let his arms fall, "On that note, I'm headed to bed. Ladies, Harry, goodnight. And congratulations on becoming a couple finally."

The last part was said with a wide and cheeky grin, causing the couple to chuckle at the subtle jab.

"We're off too. We need our beauty sleep!" Parvati mock cried as she dragged Lavender to the dorms, the others chuckling behind them. Alicia and Angelina were quick to follow on the gossip girls tails, themselves making joking similar comments.

Hermione removed herself from Harry's lap at that point and helped him stand, though he had to briefly shake feeling back into his leg much to her amusement.

He just mock scowled at her before smiling and giving her a passionate kiss goodnight. It didn't last long as Leanne was still in the room as she and Katie had stood up as well to say their own goodnights. When the couple broke, Harry moved to Katie and gave her a hug goodnight as well, before heading up to his own dorm.

Leanne was a bit surprised at the genuinely happy look on Hermione's face, even when her boyfriend was hugging her friend, although she could pass it off as friendly camaraderie between teammates. What she couldn't pass off however was the gentle touch Hermione gave her friend as she too headed to her own dorm, nor the look of adoration on Katie's face as she briefly starred at Harry's and Hermione's retreating backs.

It didn't last long as she turned a cheerful smile onto her soon after and all but dragged her off to bed as well. Leanne followed a bit uncoordinatedly as her mind was now trying to figure out what was going on between her friend and the two younger teens.

**A/N: HAH! Finally managed to finish this bloody chapter. I apologize for how long it took but one of the first parts in it gave me an absolute nightmare of a time in trying to work out the details. I can't remember how many times I tried to find something that fit and in trying to flesh it out, it just made it worse and was promptly scrapped.** **Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and... well I'd promise the next will be out soon, but that's a bit unlikely. I'll will say I'll try, but no promises.**


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